Snow Princess
by xIcyChanx
Summary: [AU] Edward Elric is, by no means, considered a social person.His brother and his girlfriend Mei, want to help him find a girlfriend and open up more to others but Ed is not cooperating. What happens though when he gets dragged to a new Ice Skating rink and witnesses the most astonishing performance of his life by a girl he will possibly never see again? [EdWin,some AlMei & Royai]
1. A Change in the Routine

**Hello everyone! Icy here! I would like to present to you a new story! *ahem* For starters, the idea came to me from RWBY's 'White' trailer. Dunno how, it just did. This is supposed to be a Two-Shot story and I've written both chapters (Chappy 2 is huge!) but once I've uploaded both of them, I would like you to tell me if you would like me to continue, since I've got some ideas for it. Though since I'm not really drowning from those ideas, I'd appreciate it if you reviewers, became my partners and gave me an idea or two. xD Now on with the story! Oh no wait, first... **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FMA AND YOU KNOW IT! *ahem* thank you.**

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_A CHANGE IN THE ROUTINE_

The sun had just begun to set. Edward Elric was, once again, locked up in his room, doing...nothing? No, excuse me, his homework for Friday. How long had he been in his room? Oh yeah, ever since he set foot inside the house.

Today was like any other day for Edward:

He would wake up, eat, go to school, survive through lessons that, according to him, have the power to bore anyone to death, return home, eat, have a small **–** sometimes forced **–** chat with Al, go to his bedroom...and stay there until the next morning, well, with the exception of the bathroom and kitchen. Then, repeat.

Yep, Edward Elric was, by no means, considered a social person. He was different, considering his age. Most 16 year old teenage boys usually went out to parties, had girlfriends, flirted with other girls and, uh, get slapped by their girlfriends for it, have many, many friends and hang out with them, like, all day, have a so-called 'teenage rebellion' every now and then and so many other things that Edward Elric did not do. He did have some friends – no, _contacts_- but he treated them more like rivals, not to mention they always found a way to push his buttons, and so, he avoided them.

Alphonse Elric, on the other hand, was all those things mentioned above and more – well, except for the 'flirting with other girls and get slapped by girlfriend' part, but yeah, you get what I mean.

Alphonse was out going, kind, and...could be a little cheeky and incredibly stubborn when he wished to be. He and his, wonderful, girlfriend Mei Chang, have been going out for two and a half years now and they've taken it upon themselves to find Edward a girlfriend. Hell, the first step is to get him out of the house!

That's why, whenever Al finds an opportunity to get Ed to leave his bedroom, he takes it, even if he has to drag his obstinate older brother out by his hair!

_- The next day [Friday] -_

Edward yawned for what seemed like the millionth time that day as he walked slowly down the school halls, the dull colour of the walls making him feel sick and even more exhausted than what he already was. He put his hands into his jeans' pockets and picked up his pace down the long hall once he spotted his locker in the distance.

He opened his locker and threw some books and recent tests in, but not before looking at his most recent science test.

He unfolded the paper, already knowing what his grade would be, but he thought it would be ok just to make sure.

Oh yes, the usual. "100 again," he scoffed and shoved the wrinkled paper into the locker before shutting it and turning around towards the large front double doors of the school, in other words, freedom.

Ah, it was finally the end of the school day – and the school week! Hell yeah! - and Edward could not wait to return home and relax for the weekend. He had no plans whatsoever and he would make sure Al had some so he could have the whole house to himself and put his radio volume on high without having him complaining (he didn't care about the neighbors). Don't get me wrong, Ed didn't want to get rid of his younger brother in any way. He just liked spending his leisure time on his own, and the only way he could do that was when Al was on a date with Mei, or in general, out of the house. His plan had been going perfect for the first year since Al and Mei had started dating but after that...they started dragging him with them to almost every date they went on for a reason he _could not understand!_

Ed shivered as he pushed the doors open and stepped out into the cold air. He pulled his gloves out of his bag and put them on and quickly slipped his red coat onto his shivering form. He sighed as he descended the few steps and started walking down a very familiar road, in hopes to get to his warm and comforting house fast.

Al had, as usual, come home earlier than Ed and was in the kitchen making lunch when he heard the front door slamming shut, followed by a series of muffled curses and a frustrated 'finally'.

He placed the stew on the table and snatched a towel from the counter. He started wiping his hands while walking towards the living room to greet the other resident of the house.

"Hello brother" He smiled.

Ed was taking his boots off when he heard Al's voice and looked up,"Hey Al, what's up?"

Al shrugged, "Nothing really, let's go eat, I'm starving!" He started moving towards the kitchen again and motioned for Ed to follow. Soon enough, he did.

They ate in silence until Al decided to make some kind of conversation and asked Ed about his day. Ed, however, wasn't helping much and gave short answers to all of his questions and Al soon got the message and dropped the conversation. Upon finishing, Ed got up and walked over to the sink where he left his now dirty plate and headed upstairs to his infamous bedroom. Al let him go, since this was a normal and everyday thing, and continued eating his stew at a much healthier pace than his brother.

Once Al had finished washing all the dirty dishes, the phone sang. It was on the third ring when he picked it up,"Hello?"

_"Hey Al!"_ came a chipper and girly voice.

Al smiled, realizing who was on the other end of the line,"Hey Mei! How are you?"

_"I'm great! I've got some awesome news!"_ she squeaked, obviously happy by the 'good news' she had to offer.

Al raised his eyebrows slightly and started becoming rather curious, "Really? What is it?" he said, his curiosity evident in his tone.

_"There's a new Ice skating area that opened last week! It has a cafeteria inside and it's super cheap! WE SHOULD GO!" _She shouted so loud Al had to move the phone away from his ear if he didn't want to have hearing problems in the future.

He considered it for a second. He hadn't been ice skating for ages and the thought of going on a date with Mei brought a wide grin to his face, "Sure!" he said, now equally excited as Mei.

_"Great! If you want, you can bring your bean brother too! It's a perfect place to find a girl! And I heard there is going to be a professional performance tomorrow evening! I wouldn't lose an opportunity like that! Oh and Riza and Roy are coming too!"_

Al ran a hand through his hair, as if to show the frustration his older sibling was causing him, "Great but, are you sure you're okay with brother coming?"

_"Of course I am silly!"_ Even if Al couldn't see her, he was sure she had one of those incredibly large grins on her face and her eyes were sparkling,"Ok! So I'll see you tomorrow evening at... 7?"

_"Ok!"_

They chatted some more for about half an hour until Al finally hung up with a smile. He couldn't wait for tomorrow. The only thing that bothered him now...was the way he had to bring it up to Ed and how he would take it.

Two hours had passed since the phone call with Mei and Al had been sitting on the couch thinking of how to tell Ed about the date. Sure, he wanted him to come but would _he _want to? Al didn't think so. He never did. What if he started a shouting match again? Al always won in the end but he still didn't like it when they fought. It made him feel guilty. He wanted Ed to come by his own free will for once and not for him to threaten to tell Roy embarrassing moments during his childhood.

He sighed. He would have to do this the hard, and usual way.

"Brother!" Al shouted at the end of the stairs.

When he received no answer he frowned and ascended the stairs. He knocked on Ed's bedroom door,"Brother, I need to talk to you."

He waited for a moment before he heard footsteps banging on the hard wooden floor, until they halted and he noticed the door opening in front of him.

"What is it Al?"

Al shifted uncomfortably and turned his gaze to the floor. "Um well, let's go downstairs," he said, figuring it was better if his brother was seated while receiving the news. It would be safer for the shouting match to start while they were sitting and no bedroom door that could be shut closed any second was involved.

Ed followed Al down the stairs and they both sat on the couch.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" Ed asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

Al, looking at the interesting pattern on the carpet, took a deep breath and spoke rather confidently, with a hint of excitement, "There's a new place close to here that opened last week." He paused and looked to see if his brother was following. Ed nodded in understanding."And me and Mei are going on a date there tomorrow evening." He finished and glanced at Ed from the corner of his eye. Ed smiled,"Great! Have fun! Don't worry about me I'll be fi-"

"You're coming with us" Al stated, cutting him off. Ed stared at his brother, he stared so intensely it almost looked like a glare, but Al knew better.

"_What?"_ Ed asked, his voice precariously calm and low.

Al gulped but answered as confidently as he did moments ago, "Yep, Roy and Riza are coming too! It'll be fun!" he said, trying to persuade the stubborn blond.

Ed narrowed his eyes at him, "_No"_

Al frowned and looked at Ed in the eye," You. Are. Coming. So get that through to your thick skull!"

"Why!" Ed whined.

"Because it'll be fun! It's an Ice Skating place which is super cheap! It'll be soooo fun brother!" Al stared and stared until Ed couldn't hold the eye contact anymore and it was his turn to study the pattern of the carpet.

"Al, I don't wanna go" Ed stated. Al knew, but it was time for Ed to get out of the house for another reason than school. Al didn't want to admit it but it worried him. He didn't want his brother to be an introvert person for all his life. Al knew Ed was, by no means, shy. No, Ed wasn't shy. He had a loud mouth when he wanted to and one of the shortest of tempers, Al betted, in the world. Ok, truth be told, Ed could be annoying as hell when he wanted to be, but he was also a kind person at heart and cared for those close to him. He was also a fun person to be around when in a good mood. Mei wanted to find him a girlfriend, but Al didn't really care if his brother had a girl or not. He just wanted him to be more social and outgoing.

Al glanced at the clock from the corner of his eye – 9 p.m. When had it gotten so late?

_It's for your own good brother._ "You're coming. End of discussion. We're leaving the house at 7p.m. tomorrow. Goodnight." Al got up from his place on the couch and without letting Ed reply he started ascending the stairs to his bedroom. '_It went better than I thought'_

Ed sighed and soon headed towards his own.

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**So? How was it? :D The next chapter is huge guys, I had no idea I was even capable of writing so much for one chapter! I'll post the next chappy soon! I'd appreciate it if you reviewed. :D **


	2. The Date

**Hello again! Icy is here with Chapter two! [Took me ages to write!] Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and as I said in the previous chapter, I want you to tell me if you'd like me to continue this.I've also started another FMA HighSchool fic that focuses on Winry's POV mostly. I'll post it here when I've completed it so I'm sure that I won't abandon it half way through (I hate it when people do that, makes me sad). I've completed Chapter 10 and I'm moving slowly, but surely :D Now, enjoy Chappy 2! But not before this...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist and you know it :) **

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_THE DATE_

Edward was brought back to reality from dream world by a horrible and annoying noise. He groaned and looked at the clock – 12:35p.m. He sighed and waited for the noise to stop but it hadn't yet and he had a feeling it wouldn't for a while.

He decided he'd just stay in his room for a while longer but his stomach let out a disapproving growl and that had him descending the stairs, only to pause to look, no, to _glare_, at his little brother. Al was cleaning the floors with a vacuum cleaner and had obviously interrupted Edward's perfect sleep with it. Ed stood there in his pyjamas and his hair in a great mess, glaring at Al. After several moments Al must've noticed Ed's piercing gaze on him and switched the machine off to look at his brother.

They stared at each other for a moment longer than necessary until Al started laughing. Ed's eyes narrowed, "What 're you laughin' at!?"

Al tried to stifle his laugh a little and answered," Oh brother, you should have seen your face! Oh my! The whole moment...!" He let his laughter take over again.

Ed frowned,"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"S-sorry b-but you had to get up sometime...C-can't have you sleepin' all day." He started chuckling again.

Ed glared, "Whatever" he said and started walking towards the kitchen to please his aggravated stomach, but not before giving the best glare he could muster while in his sleepy daze at the vacuum cleaner that had given off such an offending noise.

Soon enough, Al recovered and resumed the cleaning session.

Later that day, at 6:36p.m, Al was waiting in front of the front door ready to go meet up with Mei and the others while Ed was taking his sweet time. They had all agreed to be at Mei's house at 6:40p.m and they were –obviously- running late...

"Brother! Hurry up!" Al shouted from the living room.

"Shut up Al! This was all your fault in the first place!" Ed replied, rather aggressively, from upstairs.

Al sighed and rubbed his temple,"You're unbelievable," he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Ed asked as he descended the stairs and grabbed his coat.

"Nothing..." Al murmured while opening the front door.

The walk to Mei's house was silent. Ed was walking sluggishly behind Al with his hands in his pockets, clearly showing that he wanted to be somewhere else. Why did he have to be dragged around like that anyway? He was old enough to make some decisions on his own! And seriously, why did he have to be there with _couples_?! He was the only single one in the group. He was sure they'd act all lovey-dovey and would leave him puking on the pavement. And he's talking from experience. Every time he was dragged out by Al and Mei, they would just leave him behind eventually to have some 'private time' but if he tried to return home, somehow, Al would appear out of nowhere and scold him like a 5-year old. So, he was forced to look at all the 'cute' moments between his baby brother and the bean girl! And now Roy and Riza would be there too...hell. Those two could really act like a real couple when not in school. Since Roy was the student council president of their school and Riza was his secretary, they usually kept their relationship to a minimum and put up a more professional etiquette.

Ed grunted, desperately wanting all those negative thoughts out of his head.

"What is it brother?" Al asked.

Ed shook his head furiously as another horrible thought crossed his mind,"Nothing" he growled.

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"Al!" Mei shouted once she spotted the couple. Yep, as always ignoring Ed...

"Hey Mei!" Al shouted back, running towards her.

"Oh Al, Ed! Hello!" Riza greeted while appearing out of the building, Roy behind her.

"Hi!" Al greeted happily. Ed grunted a greeting.

Mei giggled, "Ready to go? I can't wait to see what it's like!"

"Yeah!"

They all walked mostly in silence. The couples would steal glances at each other and sometimes would whisper gently to one another, making Edward want to roll his eyes. Once the lights of the building could be made out during the dark night, the couples picked up their pace with growing excitement while Ed trailed behind, too busy looking at some nearby shops with his hands in his pockets.

When they got there, Roy pushed the large door open and could only stare. The place was huge! The door they just entered from leaded to the warm atmosphere of the cafeteria while there was another door that leaded straight to the rink. The walls were an inviting beige colour while the tables and floor were wooden. The music was not too loud but not too low either so nobody would be annoyed by it or feel lacking. On their right side, the ice skating rink was visible through the glass that replaced a wall, giving the opportunity for people to enjoy their coffees and have some sort of entertainment by watching other people skate or fail miserably at that – depends on the type of person and how they entertained themselves.

"Wow!" Mei squeaked while grabbing Al by his hand and dragging him towards the rink,"Come on guys! Let's go skate!"

Roy and Riza soon followed and Ed started making his way towards a table. He needed a coffee right then and there.

"Hey brother!" Al shouted, causing Ed to come to a halt and look over his shoulder, only to be met with three wide grins and one smirk (damn you Mustang!).

He raised his eyebrows, "What?"

The couples glanced at each other and then back at Edward,"You're...coming right?" asked Mei with a wicked grin on her face.

"What? Oh, no no, I'll be fine here with my drink, you go enjoy yourselves."

Al frowned,"You're coming!" he shouted. He walked up to Ed and started dragging him by his sleeve towards the door that leaded to the rink. Ed groaned but didn't argue. Today was just not his day. At least he had thought of an escape plan last night if anything like this happened. Well, sort of. He knew for sure that if he tried to leave the place Al would be upset so he'd just wait a few minutes until everyone was distracted and he would slip out of the ice skating rink and sit at the cafeteria.

They put on their skates, some with a little difficulty, and headed towards the cold air that was keeping the water frozen.

Everyone seemed to be adapting pretty fast. Roy and Riza had been skating many times already so there wasn't anything to get used to really, but Ed was impressed that after all those years Al could still skate with minor difficulty. As for Mei, she had already fallen on her ass for about five times but Al helped her up each time, and with his help she was able to keep up. _Serves her right._ Ed chuckled slightly at his, rather rude thought and pressed his body further into the corner he was in. Since he was, by no means, a good skater, he figured it would be best if he just stayed in a corner and watched the others, since he couldn't do that from the cafeteria.

A few minutes passed like this, until someone approached Ed.

"Oh my god! Edward is that really you?" a girl squeaked.

Ed turned his head towards the – rather annoying – voice and stared.

"Oh my god! It really is!" the girl, more like _fangirl_, screeched while blushing.

"Uh, I guess...?" Ed said, hesitating. These type of girls kind of scared him, they really freaked him out.

"Oh! What are you doing here? You're not on a date with a girl are you?!" She eyed him suspiciously.

Ed scoffed,"Me? On a _date_ with _a girl? _No way."

She gave a sigh of relief,"Good! So um, why did you come here? Wouldn't you rather sit at home...?"

Ed frowned,"Who are you and how do you know so much about my damn life?"

For a moment the girl looked offended,"You don't remember me? I'm Rose! From history, remember?" She said while making motions with her hands, as if it would help him remember.

Ed's frown deepened as he considered it. When he came to a conclusion, he answered, "Nope, nothing comes to mind. Well I guess it's not really your fault since I always fall asleep in history." He shrugged,"Sorry."

Rose gave him a hurt expression, "Fine! L-like I care if you don't remember me!" she shouted and stomped off, well, as best as she could with her skates on. Ed looked surprised for a moment but shrugged it off as 'totally unimportant'.

Meanwhile, Al was helping Mei get off the floor for the 6th time. He didn't really mind, she was cute when frustrated, she could be dangerous too though if one didn't handle the situation with great care but Al didn't have that problem, he knew Mei appreciated his help and wouldn't hurt him in any way.

"Uh! Why can't I get this right! I never thought it would be so hard! Everyone makes it look so easy!" she whined, frustrated while stomping a foot on the ground childishly, causing her to slip and fall again.

Al chuckled slightly, "Don't worry Mei, I'm sure you'll get it right! You've made a great improvement from the moment we came here," he said, offering her a hand.

Mei huffed and let Al help her up once more. Once she was sure she was steady, she started brushing herself off," I damn hope so! I-" she cut herself off when she noticed Ed in a corner talking to _a girl._

She grinned.

"What?" Al asked, noticing the change of her expression.

Mei looked at him evilly and pointed towards the corner she had spotted Ed in,"_That."_ she said.

Al followed her finger and a matching grin came to his face,"Well, well, well...What do we have here?"

Mei giggled,"I think your hot-headed brother finally came to his senses."

"I hope so! And hey, I think I've seen this girl somewhere," he paused to search his mind for an event that matched the girl's face,"I think she's at our school."

Mei shrugged, "I dunno, but she's pretty. Do you think Ed might leave with her?" she giggled.

Al gave her a face,"What do you think my brother is? I think he doesn't even have an idea that the girl is trying to flirt."

Mei laughed nervously,"That's the truth, isn't it?" she sighed,"Gah! Your brother is so stupid!" she exclaimed, her hands making their way on top of her head.

Just then, the girl that was talking with Ed stormed off, seeming...angry and rather hurt.

Al and Mei sighed,"Told you so" Al said.

"Yeah, he is stupid indeed."

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Ed was getting tired of being on the ice for so long doing nothing. His automail ports had started to ache from the cold too. Ah, how much he dreamt of that coffee! He sighed and looked around in case either of the couples he had come to this place with were around. When he spotted none, he grinned and slowly made his way to the ground –oh holy ground!-. He took off his skates and opened the door to the cafeteria. He hadn't been spotted yet, so far, so good. He sat at the far table at the back, close to the glass so he could resume his activity of observing the skating crowd. He opened the menu and decided that, indeed, a coffee would be the best thing. He yawned and looked at the clock on his mobile : '9:50p.m.' He sighed again and returned his phone inside his pocket.

Once he had almost finished his coffee, Edward felt _a lot _better. He looked at the ice skating rink and noticed that more and more people were getting off but not quite leaving. With the way they stood there, it was like they were waiting for something to happen. Upon noticing his little brother among the crowd, Ed got up from his chair and headed towards him in the other room to ask what all this was about.

"Oh that, there's going to be a professional performance at 10p.m!" Al answered quietly as the lights were being dimmed. Ed nodded in response and turned to look at the ice skating rink. All the lights had now been completely turned off and so was the music. Ed looked at his mobile to check the time: 10:01p.m. The show would be starting any minute now...

He could make out a girl on the opposite side of the skating rink coming closer and closer to the ice. He couldn't quite make out her features but he was certain it was female.

Just then, a very bright light was turned on and rested upon the girl who was now standing in the middle of the rink. The girl didn't seem too old, about Ed's age. She had long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. She wore a short, long sleeved puffy white dress with light gray patterns that sparkled. Her accessories were matching the dress, as she wore a white and gray necklace with small gray earrings and a little white crown was resting on her blonde head, with different colourful pearls in it. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be waiting patiently for the music to start. Ed could hear many people from behind him whisper and comment on her beauty, while other shared their excitement for the upcoming show.

The music started off as slow and calm and the girl finally opened her eyes and started to skate slowly around the rink. Her eyes were a sky blue colour that added a perfect touch to the rest of her outfit. She almost looked like a snow princess from a fairy tale. When the music picked up a little, she jumped and spun in the air, causing many people to let out exciting gasps. She was moving delicately around the rink, making her audience feel like she truly was a magical snow princess that owned the place. Ed couldn't lie, he felt intrigued. The way she moved and danced on the ice made her dress flow according to her movements and that only gave her extra beauty points.

Once the music got more upbeat, she picked up her pace and, following the beats, she jumped repetitively, making an impressive spin each time and landing perfectly on one leg, while the other was lifted high. She somehow made her arms flow along with the rest of her body with such delicacy that made someone feel relaxed and free just by watching her.

She started skating backwards in circles around the edges of the rink and suddenly passed by the crowd, allowing them to take in the smell of the perfume she had applied on her body that somehow made her skin sparkle in the light that followed her every move. Ed had noticed a small smile on her face, she was obviously happy, and he couldn't help but return it, even though she couldn't have noticed it.

The music started to slow down again and the girl, who was now in the middle of the rink once again, started spinning, calmly at first, and then as the music started going faster, she followed, leaning further and further towards her legs in the process. The music had been going incredibly fast and suddenly it made a loud finishing beat and the girl jerked to her finishing pose in perfect timing, with her arms in the air and her left foot in front of her right.

There were a few seconds of silence until she bowed by grabbing the ends of her puffy, short dress and leaned forward. The crowd then erupted into a clapping fit. Some people where whistling while others started giving their opinions to their friends while clapping.

Ed was frozen. What he had just witnessed had been the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his 16 years of life. He stared at the girl that was now making her way towards the crowd so she could exit to the cafeteria, and then possibly out of the building. He could easily spot Al from the corner of his eye clapping with May and the others but he was too busy taking in the impressive beauty of the girl that was now located not more than five steps away from him.

The crowd had split in two in order to let the lemon colour haired girl pass and Ed had ended up being in the front row on her left. He stared as she took off her skates and quickly replaced them with white ballerina shoes. She started walking further and further away from him until he heard the little girl next to him shout something about an autograph. The blue eyed girl stopped walking and looked down at the little girl with a gentle smile. Ed couldn't help but notice that her beauty was mostly natural, since she only had the faintest signs of make-up on her face. The girl crouched down to the small child and gently took the pen and paper out of her chubby hands. She asked the child her name, then scribbled something down on the paper and handed it back to the small, now grinning, girl. The sight before him was rather touching and sweet and Ed found himself smiling at the beautiful girl in front of him.

What he didn't expect though was for the girl to glance at him and offer him one of her smiles in return. Ed felt the blood rise to his cheeks and they soon became a furious shade of red. His heart started beating faster than normal and as she tore her blue eyes away from his gold, he felt rather disappointed. He found himself wondering what her voice sounded like, what her laugh sounded like and other thoughts that drove him absolutely insane. Where had those 'Out of Character for Edward Elric' thoughts even come from? These feelings were completely foreign for him. He didn't even know her name! He tried to clear his mind from everything that had to do with the young girl but her sparkling blue eyes and her gentle smile always came into his mind as he stared at her retreating form. He allowed only one more of the 'weird' thoughts to cross his mind until he was brought back to reality from Al tapping his shoulder,

'_Will I ever see her again?'_

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**Thank you everyone for the reviews,favs and follows!**

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**Yay! :D Winry's description was a little hard to write but I hope it's good enough for you! So, SHOULD I CONTINUE IT? :P If yes, please review and tell me your ideas.  
**

**Bye Bye~**


	3. Confusion

**Hey everyone! As you can see, I decided to continue this story after all! :D *yay* Actually, ever since I said to myself "Yes I'll continue this" more ideas came to me, though I'd really appreciate it if you gave me yours too :) Let's make this story better together whoo! Also, thanks to all the reviews I got and special thanks to those who gave me suggestions on how to continue. I'll take everything into consideration but I can't assure you that I'll write everything ( I might even change your idea a little OTL). Anyway, LET'S GET TO THE STORY!**

**Declaimer : You *sniff* know...I d-don't own it...**

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_CONFUSION_

'_Will I ever see her again?'_

Edward was brought back to reality by Al tapping his shoulder. He felt lost, like his soul had been detached from earth and went to heaven, which was, according to his thoughts, paradise. With a small shake of his head, he decided to clear his mind of all his previous thoughts and instead focus on his little brother, who was now saying something his mind couldn't quite comprehend at the moment.

"Brother? Are you listening to me?" Al suddenly asked, a confused and slightly concerned expression taking over his previously happy and excited one.

That alone made Ed snap out completely from his former thoughts and his mind now gave the opportunity for him to form sentences,"What? Oh, r-right. Can you repeat?"

Al raised an eyebrow at this but didn't question it and instead did as his brother asked, "I said, we're going to head out now and go to a fast food restaurant nearby to get something to eat and drink since this place is about to close. The restaurant's open 'till 12a.m!"

Ed nodded while his brain was processing what was just said. When he made no movement whatsoever, Al continued, slightly confused by his brother behavior," So, let's go...?"

Al's words sunk in completely,"O-oh! Right," he said and started walking towards the exit where the others were patiently waiting for him to get a hold of himself.

Roy opened the door for them and the five teenagers soon started walking towards the fast food place in comfortable silence. Al and Mei were holding hands and walking slowly, while Roy was next to Riza and had his right hand around her waist and Ed trailed behind, with his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the ground, deeply in thought and trying his best to keep his mind off of that performance and instead forcing his brain to start thinking about the events that would be occurring the next day or even the day after.

Mei broke the silence, "What did you all think of the ice skating rink guys?" she asked excitedly.

Al beamed,"It was amazing! I'm glad you found this place Mei, we should come again sometime."

"Definitely!" Mei agreed.

"I really liked it too, I hadn't been ice skating for a while now, glad to see I'm still able to skate." Roy said and Riza nodded with a smile, "So, what did you guys think of the performance tonight?" she asked in a low, but curious voice.

The question captured everyone's attention, including Ed's. Oh great Riza, and he was trying so hard to keep his mind off it...

"I think it was _awesome!_" Mei exclaimed, her whole face brightening up while lifting her hands in the air for emphasis,"I wanna be able to do those things too one day! I mean, that girl was so pretty and she's a pro! Imagine me in her place...!" she trailed off, going into a daydream.

Ed smirked, "I don't think you have the skills bean girl, since you could barely stand without falling on your ass before."

Mei turned red,"And what do you know pipsqueak! I wanna see you try!" she shouted, her hands on her hips.

Well it was true, Ed was a horrible skater but at least he didn't humiliate himself by falling on his ass repetitively! Plus, he didn't have girly dreams about becoming a professional skater just because he was impressed by a performance...

Ed glared at her,"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSQUEAK YOU _BEAN_! I mean seriously! I'm not short!" he shouted, stomping his foot on the ground childishly. He did have height problems in the past but he was sure he had grown, since he was taller than the girls at school! And he was pretty sure Mei was considered short for her age as well. The only problem he now had were the boys...Aw hell! Even Al was taller!

Mei had opened her mouth to retort but Al cut her off,"Enough!" he snapped, making all eyes turn to settle upon him, "Brother don't insult Mei and Mei please don't insult brother," he continued, now much more calmly.

Ed snorted, "Whatever," he said and started walking again. Roy and Riza remained quiet and followed him while Mei looked like a scolded child, apologizing to its mother.

Al cleared his throat once everything had returned to normal and spoke, "I thought the performance was epic, and that girl really has talent."

Riza smiled,"Yeah, I think so too." Roy nodded, a small smile forming on his face.

Riza turned to look at Ed, "What do you think Ed?" She asked, snapping him out of his angry state.

He stared at her,"What?"

Roy rolled his eyes,"About the performance, idiot," he said, earning a glare from Ed but he answered nonetheless, "Oh that...Well..." he trailed off, frowning as he thought about the right words to describe it without...exaggerating.

Her nice blonde hair moving together with her sparkling body and the pretty smile she had on her face as she danced away in a delicate manner. That white little dress she wore that hugged her body perfectly making her look incredibly beautiful when combined with the professional spins and turns she made on the ice and –

"Brother?"

Ed jerked his head up to meet his brother's eyes that were staring at him, full of concern, only inches away from him. When had he come so close?

Ed flinched and took a few steps back, "W-wha?" he asked, wide-eyed and slightly blushing from the thoughts he'd just had.

"Are you...okay? You're all red." Al asked, slightly hesitating.

"What? N-no I'm not! And y-yeah, I'm fine, I mean, why wouldn't I be?" Ed replied, slightly dazed.

Al was ready to speak but Roy cut him off, "Whatever. So, what's your answer? You still didn't answer the question," he said with a smug smirk on his face.

Ed looked at him, confused,"What question?"

Ok now Al was incredibly worried, "The question Riza asked you brother. Are you sure you're ok? Do you feel sick? Hot maybe? Have you got a fever? You're all red! When was the last time you ate? Do you have a headache? A stomach ache maybe? Does your automail hurt? What about – "

"Al, I'm _fine" _Ed said exasperated, raising his hands to stop his brother from coming even closer to him.

Al wasn't convinced but took a few steps backwards,"O-ok but tell me if you're not feeling good ok?" he said in a soft tone.

Ed smiled, "Ok"

"The question Ed!" Roy shouted, making almost everyone jump.

"It was good alright!?" Ed shouted back, furious.

Roy smirked,"Only good?" he teased, raising his eyebrows and faking surprise.

Ed glared,"I'm not talking to you!" he shouted and started stomping furiously towards the doors of the fast food restaurant that was now right in front of them.

The others followed after chuckling a little.

Ed pushed the door open and shivered as the cold air from the air-conditioning caught him by surprise. He just couldn't understand why the shops had the air-conditioning on when it was pretty cold outside. He looked around. On his left was a door that was probably only for employees since there was a sign that read 'DO NOT ENTER' while on his right were tables and couches, together with some chairs. The place was plain, the walls were white and the furniture was mostly a bright orange. Even the tiles were squares of white and orange! He walked casually towards an unoccupied table and slumped down in the chair. Upon spotting him, the others followed and Al and Mei sat on one of the couches while Roy and Riza sat on the couch opposite of them.

"So, what're you all having?" Mei asked, clapping her hands together for attention.

"I'll go with an orange juice and a hamburger." Al replied with a smile.

Roy opened the menu and he and Riza started looking through it. Once they had decided, Roy closed the menu and answered, "I'm having a burger with chips and a coke and Riza's having the same but with water instead of coke." Mei nodded," What about you Ed?" she asked, turning to face him. Ed looked at Mei slightly surprised,"Uh, I'll have...a sandwich."

Mei nodded happily and scribbled everything down on a piece of paper before getting up to order.

Al, Roy and Riza immediately started chatting, mostly about popular events at school and Ed found himself paying attention for once. Well that was what happened for a few moments until his mind drifted off to that damn performance again. Why had he felt like that back then? What was it? He was sure Al would know what the feeling was but...could he really ask him? What if it was something bad? He didn't want Al worrying over it...

A few minutes later, after Mei had returned with a tray full of food and had finished giving everyone theirs, she let the tray fall on the table with a loud _'thud'_, successfully making Ed jump and bring him back to reality once more. He didn't usually space out so much...

It only took a few moments and he started drifting off into his own world again. He had no idea how long he'd been spacing out but he was sure he missed something when someone voiced a question he had no idea how to answer to.

"What about you Edward?"

"Huh?" Ed said, as he moved his head around, searching for the person who voiced the question.

Roy frowned,"You're totally out of it today, aren't you?" he sighed," I asked you what do you think of your sandwich...is it good?"

Ed looked at the table below him and noticed that a sandwich rested on the previously empty plate,"O-oh, I haven't tried it yet," he muttered and decided to take a bite. Upon swallowing he said," It's good."

Roy nodded,"You Mei?"

Mei looked up from her burger, her mouth stuffed," I's y'mmy!"

Roy chuckled, "Good."

They started talking about their teachers at school and embarrassing events that had taken place during classes. Ed liked that subject and he caught himself laughing and talking with the others as if they were long time friends. He didn't really mind, anything to take his mind off of that girl...

While Roy was talking about a prank his class played on the biology teacher, Ed made a move to take another bite out of his sandwich but froze when he saw a blonde girl exiting the restroom and walking towards a table occupied by some other teenage girls about the same age. _That blonde hair_. She had her back to him and her hair was down, she even wore different clothes but her hair was the same colour as..._that_ girl's hair. He tuned the others out completely and made some movement to catch a glimpse of the girl's face but to no avail. Even though he couldn't see it, he was positive it was _her_ until she turned around and his hopes were immediately crushed.

Her eyes weren't that beautiful sky blue but a dark shade of green. He sighed. Of course it wouldn't be her...Why did he have hopes in the beginning anyway? Why did he care? Why did he feel so damn...disappointed now? And what if it did turn out to be her...would anything change? He was sure that he wouldn't have talked to her, and if he had she'd probably think he was weird for talking to strangers like that...

Ed closed his eyes shook his head furiously in order to get those thoughts out of his mind,_ I'm being ridiculous...and paranoid_, he thought,_ Why am I still thinking about her anyway!? _

"GAH! I'M DOING IT AGAIN!" Another furious shake.

He was so lost in his thought that he didn't even see the weird and concerned looks the others were sending him. They had stopped talking ever since Ed shook his head the first time and after that they even tried calling him but Ed was in La La Land and was evidently, not listening.

"Brother?" Al tried again, for the 4th time.

Ed froze and his eyes snapped open.

"Are you...you know...sane?" Roy asked, slightly freaked out by Ed's behavior.

"What? Oh. _Oh._ I'm fine!" Ed laughed nervously while scratching the back of his neck with his automail hand. Yes, today was just not his day.

Roy nodded slowly,"Since you were...obviously...not listening to the conversation," he paused, hesitating a little,"I suggested about us going on a trip tomorrow. It's cheap and we get to see most of the eastern part of Central, which is considered the most 'green' part of it since it's full of trees and stuff. You know, it's good for picnics and that..." he trailed off, thinking Ed got the message.

"And I heard there's a beautiful river there too! It'll be perfect for tomorrow since the weather will be nice and all! Maybe we can swim too, but only if the water's ok!" Mei added excitedly.

"Oh, um, I guess I'll – " he started but Al cut him off,"Don't you dare say that you'll stay at home!"

Ed narrowed his eyes at him,"_Actually, _I was going to say 'I guess I'll come with you'!" What a liar...all he wanted to do was stay at home and bury himself in books just to take his mind off things...

Al grinned and nodded approvingly, "Good!"

Riza yawned,"I'm sorry guys, but I gotta go or I'll collapse." She said, laughing slightly as she got up from her seat on the couch, "See you tomorrow then."

Roy nodded, "I'll walk you home." He said, standing up to follow Riza to the door. She smiled at him," Thanks."

"I guess it's best if we all leave now, it's 11:50p.m. The restaurant closes at 12 so we might as well leave." Al said, fishing in his pocket for his wallet but Roy beat him to it, "Hey! Roy I'm going to pay!"

Roy shook his head, smirking, "Nah, don't want you going bankrupt Alphonse. I'm sure the midget's a handful."

"HEY!" Ed screamed but everyone ignored him.

Al sighed, "Fine..."

"ARE YOU ACCEPTING WHAT HE JUST SAID ABOUT ME!?" Ed screamed at the top of his lungs, his face turning red.

Al looked at him innocently,"But it's true brother."

"WHA-? YOU- AL!" he screamed but the others had already exited the building and Ed was now attracting unwanted attention. With a huff he followed the others outside.

They said their goodbyes and expressed their excitement for tomorrow, exchanged slight information like what time they should be meeting the next day and with that, they parted ways.

* * *

Al unlocked the front door of their house and stepped in. Ed followed in silence and headed directly towards his bedroom with a wide yawn and a muffled 'night'.

"Goodnight brother. Oh and you better get up on time tomorrow! We're leaving the house at 10a.m! No later!"

Ed grunted a reply and shut the door to his bedroom. He immediately got undressed and fell on his bed like a sack of potatoes. He had to get her out of his mind. _He had to._ All the way to the house it was just her again and it was starting to annoy the hell out of him. '_Tomorrow I'll have forgotten everything, I'm sure. I was just stunned that's all'_ he assured himself. "Keep her out of your mind Ed!" he shouted to himself "It's not like you'll ever see her again..." Luckily, his voice was muffled by the pillow and Al remained undisturbed. With a few last thoughts about the next day and what would be occurring, Ed drifted off to sleep.

_Tomorrow will be a long day._

* * *

**A review is highly appreciated, as well as any idea that might come to your mind :) **

**xx**


	4. A Trip To The East

***Squeaks* Guys, I'm sorry this took so long but seriously...THIS IS THE LONGEST FLIPPIN' CHAPTER I've EVER written. Plus, I did have some difficulties but I got over than and nooooow here it is! I want to thank everyone who's reviewed,favourited and followed this story! I never thought I'd receive so much support :'D Anyway, this chappy doesn't have Winry in it BUT I'm pretty sure I'll add her somewhere in the next chapter thanks to an idea that Mary64** **gave me! I'm not sure if I'll keep the idea 100% the same but who knows XD Now, please enjoy the VERY LONG chappy! :D**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FMA!**

* * *

_A TRIP TO THE EAST_

"Brother!" sang Al while ascending the stairs to his brother's bedroom,"Wake up!"

Ed stirred in his bed and buried his head in the covers,"Go 'way damn it," he muttered almost inaudibly.

Al threw the door open, making it hit the wall a little harder than necessary,"Come on sleeping beauty! We'll be late if you don't get up _now,_" he said cheerfully but Ed was sure there was a serious warning behind his happy tone.

He tried opening his eyes a little and regretted it instantly,"Al, go 'way," he murmured and pulled the covers back over his head in hopes of blocking the offending light that was burning his eyes and his brother's, now annoying voice.

Al frowned, "No brother come on come on come on come _on!"_ he wined childishly while bouncing up and down making a _'thud' _sound every time his feet hit the floor.

Ed sighed and muttered something completely inaudible before turning to face Al. He had a hard time not to chuckle. Al was holding a small basket with his left hand – that Ed guessed probably had food packed inside for a picnic - while his right hand was balled into a happy fist. He had that impressively massive grin on his face like a 5 year old and his eyes were sparkling as if he was a little child being given lots of candy.

He sighed, "Fine..." he grunted sleepily while pushing the covers off himself and got to a sitting position.

Al's grin widened, if that was even possible,"Great! Come on down for breakfast! And you better eat it fast 'cause if not I'm leaving without you!" he said and ran down the stairs. Of course he didn't mean that but Ed actually thought it wasn't actually such a bad idea...

He sighed again and got up. He waited a few seconds for the dizziness to subside and he started making his way downstairs. He opened the kitchen door and saw Al putting his plate of pancakes on the table,"Hurry up!" he said excitedly. Ed smiled sleepily and sat down opposite of his brother.

"Don't you think it'll be awesome today!" Al squeaked happily,"Ah, I'm so excited!"

_I can see that..._Ed mused, "Yeah it'll be great," Ed replied, almost flatly while chewing, "So, where are we going to meet the others exactly?" he asked.

Al, who was now focused on eating fast, looked up at his brother,"We decided yesterday remember?" he said, arching an eyebrow in the process. Of course Ed hadn't been acting very much like himself last night...

"Just tell me Al," he snapped while picking on his food with his fork.

Al sighed slightly and replied, "We're supposed to meet at Roy's house, and from then we'll go straight to where the trip bus will be waiting for everyone to come."

Ed frowned, "Why the bastard's house?" he asked, genuinely curious. They always went to Mei's house for meetings like this one...

"Because," Al started exasperated,"Roy is the one who is closer to the meeting place than any of us and besides, he's the one who knows all the necessary information, since he's the one that brought it up yesterday in the first place. Brother, were you even listening to the conversation last night?" Of course not...

Ed shrugged, "Not really...But anyway, what time do we have to be at Roy's?"

Al thought about his answer for a second, "Well, we'll leave here at 10...so I guess 10:30 the most?" he said smiling unsurely.

Ed nodded and got up from his chair to get ready once he glanced at the clock and realized it was 9:45a.m.

* * *

"Guys! We're here!" shouted Al while running, once he spotted the others waiting patiently outside Roy's house. The others turned and smiled, "Al!" Mei shouted and ran towards him for a huge hug.

"Hello Ed, Al," Riza waved with a smile on her face.

Roy sighed, "You're late again guys, I mean seriously..." he shook his head disapprovingly but couldn't stop the smile from forming.

Al laughed nervously and sent a death glare in Ed's direction which Ed decided to ignore. It wasn't entirely _his_ fault! Al was the one who was overly excited and forgot to bring the picnic basket when they were half way to Roy's. They had to go back and get it, _and that was Al's fault._ Ed had just been slow at getting ready, _that's all!_

"So, since we're kind of late, let's get going now!" Mei pipped up and the rest nodded their agreement.

They started walking happily but when Riza informed them that they were running late and that the trip bus would be leaving in less than 10 minutes, they started running like mad people.

"F-finally," Roy said, panting once they reached their destination.

Ed looked around and frowned,"Is that little bus going to fit all these people in? I mean, if it was a double bus then I'd understand, but... " he scratched his head in confusion.

"No brother, the people have been divided into many different buses and we're going in that one according to our tickets," he said, pointing to a bus that had a huge '6' painted on its side.

"Our tickets have numbers on and all of ours have number 6, so that's our ride," Roy added.

Suddenly a man with a microphone and a bright green T-shirt that said 'Trip Guide' started talking, "Good morning people! I'm Tom and I'll be your guide for the day! So now, are you ready to go!?" he asked the crowd that had gathered in front of him. Many 'yeah's and 'of course's were heard and the man started talking again,"Great! Now, I want each one of you to look at your tickets and search for a single number! Once you've found it, please escort yourself towards the bus with the matching number on your ticket!"

People started shuffling in their bags for their tickets and making their ways to the buses. Roy looked at all the tickets to double check that they were all supposed to be in the same bus, before heading towards bus number 6 with the others.

"We're leaving in 5 minutes, so make yourselves comfortable until then! Oh but please no smoking in the buses!" Tom shouted through the microphone before setting it down.

"Aww man!" complained a man from a few seats behind Roy. Roy looked behind him once he recognized the voice.

"JEAN?!" Roy shouted shocked, causing everyone to look at him.

"Jean!" Riza repeated, the same shock in her voice but in a more calm tone.

"ROY?! RIZA?!" Jean shouted back, jumping up from his seat and stared at the couple,"What the hell are you two doing here!?"

Roy frowned,"Well, I think we could ask the same to you."

"Oh. Right. I'm here with Ling and Maes," Jean answered, pointing over his shoulder,"You?"

"We're here with Mei, Ed and Al," Riza replied.

"Oh really?" Jean looked around,"Where are they?"

"Ahem!"

Jean turned around and was met with a pair of golden eyes glaring at him.

"Oh hey Ed! Didn't see you there," Jean smirked.

Ed was ready to complain when Al cut him off,"It's ok Jean, you were turned around, how are you?"

Jean grinned while reaching for his pocket for a cigarette but stopped mid-way, remembering the guide's words,"I'm healthy!" he answered.

Ed scoffed,"Not with all the cigarettes you smoke everyday..." he grumbled.

Jean smirked,"Someone got up from the wrong side of the bed today it seems. A girlfriend will help bring up your spirits you know."

"OH SHUT UP WOULD YOU!?" Ed shouted, only to receive annoyed stares.

Roy was about to speak but a loud whistle from the guide was heard and the bus started moving.

"Ah, I guess we're starting. See you there guys!" Jean said and waved while making his way back to his seat.

* * *

The ride was supposed to be 2 hours and everyone was mostly silent, doing their own thing to please themselves while others were sometimes whispering to the person next to them.

Roy was texting on his mobile phone, while Riza, next to him, was drawing different types of guns on a random notebook she had brought with her, Mei was trying to stop herself from feeling nauseous and Al was either giving his support to Mei from the seat in front of her or playing games on his phone while Ed was reading next to him.

Suddenly Mei pipped up, catching everyone's attention.

"Oh! Guys! You didn't forget to bring a swimsuit with you, right?" she asked, her face still buried half-way in a plastic back, just in case.

"I brought one!" Al said, raising his hand.

"I brought one too, though I'm not sure if I'll use it," Riza said.

"Aww come on!" Roy complained and earned a death glare and a hard punch on the shoulder from Riza,"Behave yourself," she ordered in a stern voice. He pouted and slumped further into his seat, defeated.

Mei giggled,"Ok. What about you Ed?"

"No," he answered flatly, turning the page of his book.

Al frowned,"Why not brother?"

"Because," he replied, still reading his book and not looking up a second.

"Come on little guy, embarrassed?" Roy teased while placing his usual smirk on his face.

Ed's eyebrow twitched and he visibly tensed but thankfully didn't say anything, "I'm going to ignore you today," he said instead, through clenched teeth.

Roy snorted,"Good luck with that."

Riza sighed,"Can't you two just get along for once?" she murmured, shaking her head.

After two hours had passed, the bus finally came to a stop. Ed had fallen asleep somewhere during the ride and Mei had unfortunately failed to keep her breakfast securely in her stomach. Luckily for the bus driver, Al had given her that plastic bag. Al woke Ed up – who wasn't really happy with that – and they all got out of the bus.

"Attention people!" Tom started, "I want to inform you that this is our first stop, so you are free to do whatever you want as long as you are back in the buses in one hour! Make sure you're here or we're leaving you behind!" he laughed, but Ed was sure he was being somewhat serious.

Mei forgot all about her puking in the vehicle and instead returned to her usual, happy self. She looked around, "Wow! There is so much grass here! And so many trees!" she squeaked, her eyes sparkling.

In front of them was a forest but it wasn't deep enough to get lost so they had all been given permission to explore it. There wasn't a single trace of cement or roads – only grass and mud. The air was refreshing in contrast to the polluted air from back home. Who knew Central was so beautiful in the East?

"Yeah, it's really amazing!" Al said, walking towards her side.

Roy smiled as he looked around with Riza at his side until his stomach gave a loud growl and he frowned,"Guys, let's set up the picnic, I'm hungry."

Mei instantly agreed by nodding furiously and Al chuckled slightly,"Ok! Let's get it set up!"

"Why don't we go further inside the trees somewhere? I think it'll be better from eating in front of the bus," Riza suggested.

"I guess you're right Riza. Let's go then!" Roy announced and started walking, with the others following behind.

"So many people are having picnics!" Mei giggled as they walked further into the small forest.

"Yeah, and look there," Al said, pointing to the trip guide,"Our guide seems to have a decent knowledge of the plants in this area," he continued.

Mei squinted in order to see better against the bright sun,"What's he doing Al?" she asked curiously.

Al smiled,"I think he's explaining the different types of plants and their history, since many of them have been in these places for centuries. The plants here are different from the ones back home." He explained.

"Wooow," Mei said absentmindedly, still looking intensely in the direction of the guide.

"Roy! There's Jean, Maes and Ling!" Riza said while grabbing him by the arm.

Roy turned around and spotted Maes waving towards them,"Hey Maes!" he shouted.

Maes motioned for them to come over and so they did. Ed helped Al to get the essential for the picnic out. They laid the table cloth on the grass next to Maes' and sat down. Roy and Riza were engrossed in a conversation with Maes while Al and Mei were talking to Ling who had surprisingly come without Lan Fan. Ed frowned, he was left alone again. _Oh well_.

He took off his coat and laid it on the grass beside him before laying down himself. He was wearing his long sleeved black shirt and his gloves as well as his long black pants in order to hide his automail as best as possible. Not that the others didn't know about it, he just didn't feel comfortable with the stares and the unwanted attention he received every time people who didn't know about it saw it.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely noticed Jean lay beside him on the grass.

"Hey Ed what's up?" he asked, the infamous cigarette now in between his lips once again.

Ed shrugged and put his arms behind his head for support,"Nothing much," he said, sighing.

"Al and the others are talking about the place you went yesterday. Was she hot?" Jean asked, causing Edward to sit up and rest his weight on his elbows to look at Jean with a disgusted and confused expression,"Who's hot?"

Jean grinned,"You know...that professional skater Al was talking about. The one that gave an 'astonishing performance' as Al put it."

Ed felt his cheeks turn a light red. So he was talking about _that girl_,"U-uh...so...what about her?" he replied, laying back down and turning his back to Jean in order to hide the blush. Why was he blushing anyway!?

Jean smirked,"Describe her," he said firmly. He always loved to push Ed into a corner like this.

"W-why do I have to? Go get Al to do it and leave me alone Havoc," Ed replied, irritation evident in his tone.

Jean's smirk grew,"Aw come on, Al's chatting with the others. I'm curious come on."

Ed sighed. It would be fine if he just said the basics right? Like hair colour and that...Yes, he didn't need to say anything unnecessary and he would get Jean to leave him alone. With a deep breath he replied,"Blonde hair, blue eyes," he said, so fast he barely understood himself.

"Hmm I see. Nice body?" Jean smirked.

Ed was now the same colour as his red coat,"W-w-what a-are y-you t-talking about, j-j-jerk!" Ed stuttered and cursed himself for it.

Jean chuckled but decided not to push it any further,"Anyway, let's get something to eat or the others will devour everything," he said as he pushed himself up.

Ed sighed in relief and once he was sure there was no trace of red on his face he got up and moved towards the basket to grab a sandwich.

"So, where is that river you were talking about Mei?" Al asked.

"Umm, I think it's on the next stop," she smiled.

Al nodded and checked his phone clock – 2:25p.m.

"Guys we should be heading back to the bus now," Al informed.

Roy checked his own phone and nodded,"Yeah, let's go or we'll be trapped here if they leave without us," he joked.

The ride to the next stop was quiet. They were supposed to be there in an hour and many people – mostly children - were exhausted and were taking short naps. Ed was reading his book while Al was annoying the hell out of him every time his sleeping head slipped and fell on his shoulder. Mei had also fallen asleep in the seat behind them while Roy and Riza were playing cards in the seats next to them.

Ed also noticed that Jean was smoking secretly with the window wide open not to be caught by smell a few seats back. He shook his head disapprovingly, that person was impossible. Next to Jean, Maes was snoring away holding a picture of his girlfriend in his hands tightly, making Ed roll his eyes. In the seat next to Jean and Maes, Ling was typing furiously some kind of message and was constantly trying to stifle his laugh. _Probably playing some prank again._

The bus stopped and Tom stood up from his seat,"We're here people! Feel free to swim in the river if you want! Well, only if you have a swimsuit with you, though we did recommend it on the posters we sent!" he said and got off the bus.

Roy and Riza also got up and Roy waited until Riza woke Mei up. Ed shook Al pretty hard and Al jumped up from his slumber and glared at his older sibling, "You could have done that more gently," he said sleepily while rubbing his eyes to glare better. Ed snorted,"Yeah you mean like you did to me before?" he said, crossing his arms and arching an eyebrow.

Al huffed but didn't reply and instead got up and walked with the others out of the bus. Ed sighed and followed.

"There's the river I was talking about!" Mei said excitingly, pointing to the clear water.

"Well, let's go get changed then!" Al exclaimed, holding the bag with his swimsuit in high.

They went and asked Tom where they could change and he pointed at a little wooden building that was full of little rooms with toilets. They all got inside the empty ones while Ed waited outside, since he was constantly complaining about the hideous smell and started cursing the people who last cleaned the place, who, according to him, were ancient history.

Roy was the first one to come out with his simple black swimsuit. After him followed Al with his chocolate coloured one and then Mei with her pink bikini with yellow flowers on.

Riza had eventually decided to join and wore her black bikini as they all headed towards a part of the river that wasn't really populated.

"The water's freezing!" Mei complained while holding her arms across her chest to stop her shivering but got in nonetheless.

"Nah it's ok," Al said from the water before diving in.

"I'm going to jump in!" Roy announced proudly,"So get out of the way!"

Riza rolled her eyes with a smile and waited for her boyfriend to show off, "Go ahead," she sighed.

"3...2...1!" Roy shouted and jumped in with a loud '_splash!'_ that caused Ed to move further away in hopes of not getting wet.

"Whoa! Awesome Roy!" Jean shouted from Ed's left. Jean was also in his orange swimsuit as well as Maes in his green one and Ling in his yellow with white stripes one.

Ling tapped Ed's shoulder,"Not going in Ed?" he asked, frowning.

"No, I'm not." Ed replied simply and looked back towards the river. Ling sighed and made his way in the water.

"Brother! You should come in!" Al shouted from the water.

Ed shook his head,"No Al. I don't even have a swimsuit with me."

Al sighed and splashed Roy in the face which resulted into an all out war.

Ed had eventually got bored from standing up so long and decided to sit on the grass and grab an orange juice from the basket. He opened it up and took a sip.

Al and the others were splashing around like little kids and Ed just had to wonder if any of them had brought towels to wipe themselves when they were done. He took his phone out of his pocket and checked the time – 4p.m. They had to be back in the busses by 4:30. He couldn't help but think about the amount of homework he would need to do when they got back and how many hours of sleep he would eventually get. All this moving around was taking its toll on him. He yawned and went to take another sip of his juice.

"Ah! Big brother!" shouted a little girl which made Ed and the others in the water look around. The little girl ran up to Ed," You are the big brother I saw yesterday!" she giggled happily. She did look familiar...Where had he seen her before? She couldn't be more than 5 and her voice sounded familiar too...

"Yesterday?" Ed asked, confused. When she nodded it hit him, she was the little girl at the ice skating rink yesterday that got an autograph from that girl...

"Oh! Right, I remember you," Ed said, smiling. How had that girl even found him?

The girl grinned, "I'm Nina and this is my dog Alexander!" she said while pointing towards a white dog that was bigger than herself.

Ed grinned,"I'm Ed. How did you remember me from last night?" he asked, genuinely curious while taking a sip from his juice.

Nina giggled,"I remembered you 'cause you were next to me when we were watching that very pretty girl! I noticed the way you were looking at her and I remembered your pretty eyes! I haven't seen anyone with golden eyes before!" she said, happily.

Ed nearly choked on his juice. _She noticed the way I was looking at her? What's that supposed to mean!?_ He felt a little embarrassed since everyone's attention was now on him,"Heh, thanks, I guess?"

Nina nodded in acceptance,"You're welcome big brother! Wasn't that girl beautiful?" she asked, her dark blue eyes sparkling.

"Now the girl's talking!" shouted Jean with a smirk from the water.

Ed felt his cheeks turn a little pink,"U-uh...yeah..." he said nervously, scratching the back of his neck with his hand.

"I got an autograph too!" she exclaimed as if waiting to be congratulated, and oblivious to Ed's embarrassment.

Ed smiled a little,"Yeah, I know."

"Nina!" a middle aged woman shouted and ran over to where the little girl and Ed were sitting.

"Mummy!" Nina shouted and raised her hands in the air while Alexander shook his tail.

"Nina! Where did you run off to again? I'm so sorry if she was being a bother to you," she apologized to Ed while panting slightly.

Ed shook his head, "No, she wasn't being a bother."

The woman smiled and picked Nina up,"Let's go back to daddy, shall we?"

Nina giggled and nodded, then turned to Ed,"Good bye big brother Ed!" she waved.

Ed waved back with a smile, "Bye."

He finished his juice and laid back on the grass until he decided to take his phone out to play a game or two. He froze when he noticed the time – 4:35.

"Shit!" he hissed and got up as fast as he could to inform the others that they were supposed to be at the bus by now.

"Guys!" he shouted to get their attention. Once he did, he continued, "We're 5 minutes late! We have to go back _now!_"

Many muffled curses were heard as the others practically ran out of the water, stressed.

They went to change as fast as they could while Ed went to the bus to inform Tom about the situation.

* * *

"Come on guys! Can't you change any faster!?" Jean was going crazy,"I don't want to be left here all alone!" he said in a dramatic tone.

Roy scoffed as he made his way next to Jean, "You're not going to stay alone! We'll be here!"

"That's the problem!" cried Jean and Roy raised an eyebrow,"Also! What will I do when I run out of cigarettes?! I'll die!" he continued using the same dramatic tone he used earlier.

Roy snorted, "No way. It'll do you good idiot."

"I'm not like you, normal people!" Jean argued, offended.

Roy decided not to continue this pointless argument and instead rolled his eyes.

"Come on we're ready! Let's go!" shouted Al as he ran past them together with the others.

As they ran, Jean was the first one to start slowing down,"G-guys, w-wait, I n-need a r-rest," he said, panting.

Maes rolled his eyes,"_That", _he said, pointing to the now exhausted Jean, "is what cigarettes do to you. They destroy your lungs."

"Right, now let's go or we're really going to be stuck here. I don't know how long Ed can keep them waiting." Mei said worryingly.

* * *

The group had finally reached the bus and after a lecture from Tom they all hurried inside laughing at their own stupidity. They all ended up falling asleep during the two hour ride home and when the bus finally halted, they all sleepily grabbed their things and walked out. The only thing that was in their minds right then was bed and sleep.

Roy stretched and murmured a small goodbye before heading sluggishly towards his house with Maes. Lucky him, his house was closer than anyone else's and he had let Maes crash at his place since his house was quite a distance away. It was only a half hour after 6p.m. but everyone felt like they hadn't slept in years. Mei walked Riza home since she claimed she wasn't feeling as tired – she had slept a lot during the trip - and Ed and Al soon headed towards theirs in complete silence save for the constant yawns.

When Ed opened the front door, he cursed Al for making him go to that trip and headed upstairs to do the only thing he _didn't _want to do. Homework. At least Al had to do his too and Ed couldn't help but wonder if the others had done theirs. Maybe he could just leave it...It wasn't like he didn't know the answers already...Well maybe not for history but who cared?

With a sigh, he sat on the floor and opened his history book. He quickly skimmed through the piece of text and was halfway through a question when he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore and nearly collapsed on the floor head first. He cursed and threw the book on the floor and hurried over to the warmth of the bed, not even caring where his threw his clothes as he got undressed.

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**A review is greatly appreciated as well as any idea that might cross your mind about this fic! 3**

**Furthermore, I would like to apologize for any mistakes HAHA**

**BTW, do you have any ideas on how I should make Ed and Winry meet? :D**


	5. Unexpected Meeting

**Konnichiwa! I'm here to present a new chappy! And this one has a lot of EdWin in it huehue 83 I want to thank everyone who has reviewed this story and an extra thanks goes to the ideas I got x3 I got this particular idea from jaclynkaileigh, even though I changed it around a little! I will try and use as many ideas you guys give me as possible! :D **

**Disclaimer: I Don't Own FMA and you know it!**

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_UNEXPECTED_ MEETING

Edward pulled his white gloves on, grabbed his red coat and stormed out of the house towards the school, Al behind him. Surprisingly, the weather had turned upside down and was much colder than yesterday. With the sky as black as it was, one could say it would start pouring down soon. Al had insisted on bringing an umbrella just in case, but Ed, as stubborn as always, claimed that they would be fine and that a little rain wouldn't do any harm. Al had eventually given up on trying to change his thick headed brother's mind, so grabbed two umbrellas and dropped the argument.

The way to school was just like any other. Al would meet some of his friends on the way and the rest of the walk would be filled with happy chatter and laughter. Ed usually refrained to participate into any kind of conversation during the first hours of the school day, since he has never been a morning person and whenever someone approached him and spoke to him – even if that person was a teacher – the situation always concluded in a disaster and many times left someone feeling offended.

Ed sighed when he pushed the front double doors of the school open and met that familiar dull place he hated so much. He hadn't even been a solid minute in the building and he was already plotting his escape. Having history for first period wasn't helping either. Mr Grumman would probably start explaining the lesson in that boring voice of his and make Ed fall asleep on his desk again. Looking at the bright side, he would get an hour extra of rest.

He walked down the halls with his gloved hands placed firmly in his pockets, absentmindedly responding to quick 'hello's and 'good morning's that random people he probably knew greeted him with. He stopped walking when he reached the locker room to quickly look around for his locker and upon spotting it, made his way in front of it to get some folders he left there on Friday.

When the bell rang shortly after, Ed cursed and, stifling a yawn, made his way as slowly as possible to his history classroom. Mr Grumman was always late so Ed used that time to his own advantage and made sure he spent as less time in that room as possible. When he was standing in front of the door, he sighed and pushed it open. He frowned when he realized that Mr Grumman was already in the classroom and that he had just interrupted the lesson. Had he been _that _late?

Mr Grumman turned to him and gave him a disapproving look,"Mr Elric would you care to explain why you're late?" he asked, in that blunt voice Ed hated so much.

Ed rolled his eyes and grunted an apology while making his way to the back of the classroom and took a seat next to the window. Mr Grumman watched him disapprovingly and with an exasperated sigh, continued the lesson.

During the lesson, Ed tried to pay attention. He really did. But fortunately or unfortunately, history was just not his thing and his attention soon turned to anything but Mr Grumman's annoying voice. He turned to look at the class and he wasn't surprised the slightest when he noticed that almost half the class had fallen asleep while others sent small paper messages to each other, silently continuing their chat before the bell had rung.

With a small chuckle, Ed turned to look out of the window and into the busy roads. The weather had worsened and there now wasn't the slightest hint of sun. Most people were driving, probably worried that it would start raining heavily suddenly if they went to their destination on foot. Small raindrops were falling from the clouds above and stained the glass of the windows, making it harder and harder to see clearly through it.

Looking at the calm drizzle, Ed felt even tireder and rested his head on the palm of his hand lazily. He couldn't help but wonder if the girl he met on Saturday was trapped inside the walls of a school, just like him. Ed knew he should probably stop these thoughts but he was too tired to do so, so he let them wander. Was she sitting in a classroom right now like him, looking out of the window, bored, and wishing she was somewhere else? On ice maybe? That was the only thing Ed knew about the girl so when he thought of her, it was always somewhere cold and icy. Where was she right now? He really wanted to meet her again damn it...he just didn't want to admit it. He sighed and closed his eyes. He knew it was impossible, for he really didn't know anything about her. Well, except that she was one hell of an ice skater...But, does that even count?

He groaned when his hand failed him and let his head fall onto the desk with a small '_thud'._ Damn it, he _was_ thinking of her again. He had to stop doing that...Maybe he was just coming down with something, that was the only explanation he could think of. He didn't really want to admit it, but it worried him. That girl had been on his mind nonstop ever since the day he first laid eyes on her and he didn't even know her freaking name!

He grunted louder and banged his forehead on the desk repetitively, feeling extremely frustrated. With one last loud bang, he lifted his head sleepily and noticed that some of his other classmates were looking at him, confused and concerned expressions on their faces. Many started to whisper to each other and he did his best to ignore them but mentally noted that if he didn't stop acting paranoid soon, someone was sure to start spreading a rumour about him going nuts. And that was the last thing he needed. He stared intensely at the desk while studying all the doodles he had drawn with pencil over the days and frowned. Maybe he _was_ losing his sanity...

He sighed and rested his head gently on the desk and before he knew it, he fell asleep.

* * *

Ed woke up by the bell echoing through the now full hallways and he jumped up with his pencil stuck to his cheek. He took in his surroundings and after a few moments he realized where he was and what had happened. He sighed and hurriedly threw his things in his bag and practically ran out of the classroom while Mr Grumman was putting papers in his bag neatly. He had probably noticed that Ed was sleeping during the lesson. Oups. He usually woke up before the bell rang and didn't have this problem but he guessed that it was his punishment for not getting enough sleep last night. Everything was Equivalent Exchange after all.

As he was walking down the hallways he tried to stifle a yawn. Maybe he could leave early again and go home and sleep. He could always blame the history teacher for draining all of his energy...Suddenly a thought came to him and his eyes widened. He could go back to the ice skating rink...just to check it out. Now was the perfect time; nobody would know where he went, and he could easily keep it a secret from Al, considering all the teasing that would follow if he actually confessed going back to the place in hopes of finding the girl...No, no! He wasn't doing that. He just wanted to check it out. _That's all._ He shook his head and frowned, she was probably at her own school anyway...

He casually looked around to see if any teachers were near and when he spotted none, he grinned and walked as normally as possible towards the front doors of the school. He looked around once more and opened them slightly, enough for him to go through unnoticed. Oh how Al would kill him for this! Even so, he really didn't want to stay at school and do nothing but be bored all day. As a teenage boy he needed action! So, once he was completely out of the building he took notice of the rain that was currently soaking his clothes. With a curse, he started running down the pavement and as quickly as possible, made his way towards the ice skating rink with his bag hanging from his shoulder.

After ten minutes of constant running, he was finally standing in front of the door that would lead inside of the huge building, inside the warmth of the cafeteria. Panting heavily, he rested his hand on the door knob and with a pray to a God he wasn't sure existed, he pushed the door open.

The first thing he noticed was that the cafeteria was empty. No costumers were occupying any chairs and the music had been turned off completely as well as the lights. He looked around and figured that the place was probably closed, but if that was the case, why had the door been unlocked? He couldn't really see anything or anyone ice skating through the glass since there were no lights switched on. He sighed in slight disappointment and decided it was best to return to school, since he no longer felt tired after all that running. He didn't even care that he was now soaking wet. He turned to open the door to the exit when he heard a faint '_ouch! ' _come from the ice skating rink. It was very faint and for a moment he thought he was imagining things until a loud groan came right after it. Now _that _he couldn't be imagining or he really was losing his mind.

He frowned and decided to enter the ice skating rink as he momentary forgot that he was soaking wet and would probably catch a nasty cold. He opened the door slowly, as if afraid to disturb the silence, and met darkness. He found himself doubting he even heard anything to begin with but decided to check it out nonetheless. The only thing he had to do was find a light switch. He wandered slowly, with his hands stretched in front of him but froze as he felt himself accidentally put his right foot on the ice and slipped, causing a loud '_thud'_ to echo through the empty room.

He started cursing fluently as he got up but stopped when he heard a voice, "Who's there?" It was female and it sounded hesitant. Maybe he wasn't the only one who thought he had been imagining things.

He couldn't see but neither could she so he decided to make his presence known by talking, "Uh, hey."

He could hear the scratches her skates were making on the ice as she skated towards...somewhere? Maybe towards him? But it seemed like she was going the opposite direc-

His thought were cut short when he heard a little '_tick' _and a bright light was turned on, blinding him ,"Damn it!" he hissed while bringing his hands to cover his eyes automatically.

"Oh sorry," said the girl as she skated her way to him. He started blinking furiously with his gaze on the floor but once his eyes got used to the light he turned to meet the girl. His jaw nearly dropped on the floor. His silent pray was heard and granted, for in front of him stood the very girl that he wanted to meet, the very girl he had seen that night, the very girl that had drove him absolutely insane, the very girl he couldn't get his mind off.

She shifted uncomfortably under his intense stare of utter disbelief and shock.

"Ummmm...?" She waved a hand in front of his face and that seemed to do the job.

"O-oh! Sorry, I was j-just – well, uhh" he stammered and flushed with embarrassment at his inability to form sentences that actually made sense.

She laughed slightly,"What are you doing here?" she asked with that very smile he had seen on her face Saturday night. Really, the only difference was that she had her hair down and wore different clothes.

He blinked as his brain was trying to form an answer to her question. He couldn't really tell her that he had wanted to find _her _or that he had been thinking about her nonstop or that he had weird thoughts about her just because he had seen her Saturday night or that he couldn't take his mind off her. Oh crap, he had to think of an acceptable lie.

"Uh, well, I just wanted to skate," he blurted out. Oh great, that was such a _stupid _lie. She would never believe that...He wasn't even wearing skates!

She beamed,"Oh really?" she paused and frowned,"But, aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"Yeah well, I guess I wanted to get away from history..." he grumbled, annoyed as Mr Grumman's face came into his mind. At least that hadn't been a lie.

She giggled, "Oh I get it! I sometimes do that too," she paused and flushed a little,"Like today."

He grinned,"So, what's your name?" This was a question he desperately wanted an answer to. It had been haunting him ever since he first saw her, and now to actually get to know it...He found himself waiting impatiently for an answer.

"Oh!" she gasped,"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself!" she flushed at her rudeness," I'm Winry. Winry Rockbell," she smiled,"You?"

_Winry Rockbell..._

"I'm Edward Elric, but you can call me Ed," he said while scratching the back of his neck with a gloved hand, slightly flushed.

"Nice to meet you Ed!" She exclaimed happily and Ed felt something weird inside of him when his name came out of her mouth. He felt the urge to blush furiously or just run off and scream. Yep, he was definitely coming down with something.

"So, care to explain why you're soaking wet? You'll catch a cold you know," she continued, pointing at his dripping wet clothes.

He blinked. He had completely forgotten he had just walked out of the rain,"It's pouring outside," he said matter-of-factly.

She gave him a blank stare for a moment before her eyes widened,"How am I supposed to get home if it's pouring down!?" she shouted hysterically and Ed nearly jumped at the sudden outburst and change of character.

He had no idea how to reply and so she continued, "Do you have an umbrella with you?!" Why was she panicking? It was just a little rain...

"Um, no. S-sorry to disappoint you." He mentally cursed himself for not listening to Al in the morning. But...hadn't Al grabbed two umbrellas anyway?

Before he could say anything, she grabbed his bag from the floor where it had fallen when Ed had slipped and immediately opened it as she started fishing blindly inside in hopes of finding something.

"Um..." Ed found himself unable to comprehend what was on that girl's mind. So weird...Wait. YOU DON'T JUST GRAB OTHER PEOPLE'S PROPERTY AND START LOOKING THROUGH IT!

"H-hey!" Ed shouted and started to move closer in order to retrieve his bag. She however, lifted it out of his reach, "No wait! I think I found an umbrella!" she shouted triumphantly.

Ed paused,"What? I didn't bring an umbrella..." Al. It had to be.

She shook her head happily as she pulled out a black umbrella from his bag,"Uh Uh, you did bring one! Here!" she said as she shoved the umbrella in Ed's hands. This girl was so weird...

"R-right," he said, kind of reluctantly as he had no idea of what to expect of the girl anymore. One minute she was happy and the other she was hysterical. And he thought _he_ was the one losing his mind...

There were a few moments of an awkward silence with Ed looking from the umbrella to Winry and from Winry to the umbrella and with Winry looking at him as if expecting something from him, with a wide grin, her bright blue eyes shining.

"So, uh, why were you here in the dark?" he asked randomly, successfully breaking the suffocating silence.

She smiled,"I like being in the dark," she answered simply,"I feel more...free."

Ed gave a small and slow nod,"Uh huh. So, uh, how long have you been here?"

She frowned as she considered her future reply, "Since 9:30 I think," she said, nodding as if to confirm it.

"Uh huh, um, what were you doing?" Stupid question really...

She laughed,"Well what do you think a person could be doing at an ice skating rink other than ice skating?"

Ed scowled,"It was just a question..." he said, crossing his arms.

Winry frowned playfully, "What's got you in a bad mood all of a sudden huh?" she asked, smirking.

He really didn't understand her. Her mood swings were starting to get on his nerves,"I'm not in a bad mood!" he snapped.

She raised an eyebrow,"Uh huh, suuure."

She closed her eyes and smiled, slightly shaking her head and placing her arms behind her back, "Do you like skating?" she unexpectedly asked.

Ed was taken aback by the sudden change of subject and found himself fumbling upon his answer,"Uh, well- I don't- I mean-I uh- I guess"

Winry started laughing,"Is that a yes or a no then?"

"I guess it's a maybe or I don't know?" he said, unsure and slightly flushed. He just _had _to make a fool of himself in front of her...

Winry raised her eyebrows,"Oh ok then. I love ice skating by the way!" she smiled.

Ed was ready to mention Saturday night when he sneezed. Oh great, a cold was just what he needed...

She chuckled,"Maybe we should get out of here before you get sick," she said while gently pulling her skates off.

Ed nodded while picking up his things and started to walk slowly towards the door, only to pause and allow her to catch up.

They decided to sit at a table at the cafeteria to talk, since neither of them had any plans of returning to school anytime soon. They switched on the lights in the cafeteria and quietly sat at a random table.

"So, um, is it still raining outside?" she asked, blushing a little and avoiding eye contact.

Ed raised his eyebrows,"Yeah, I think it is...Why?"

Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red, "W-well, since you have an umbrella...C-can you...you know...take me home?"

Ed flushed a deep crimson himself, "S-sure..." he paused and took a deep breath ,"What'syourphonenumberbytheway!?" he blurted out, his left hand pointing at her as if she was guilty for something and his eyes wide on his red face. Oh god he felt so _stupid_!

She stared at him with wide eyes, stunned as she tried to comprehend what was just said,"W-what?" she asked gently.

Ed sighed and the red on his cheeks reduced to a calm shade of pink,"What's your phone number?" he repeated, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"Oh," she started calmly and then blushed, "L-let me write it o-out for you," she continued while bending over to open her bag and rip a piece of paper out of her school notebook.

Still avoiding eye contact, Ed waited patiently for her to finish scribbling down the numbers. His blush deepened when he realized she had extended her hand with the paper towards him with a smile and a blush of her own on her pretty face. He hesitantly took the paper and folded it neatly to fit in his pocket.

"Are you going to give me yours?" she asked while shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

"O-oh right, just a sec." He fished around in his bag for a piece of paper and scribbled his phone number down as neatly as he could with his trembling hand. Why was he so nervous!?

"Thanks," she smiled,"I guess we should go now...?" He could tell she was feeling uncomfortable but hell, he was sure he was feeling way worse.

"Right." He replied and sat up, grabbing his umbrella in the process. He owed Al big time for this one.

They walked silently towards the door and once Winry was sure Ed was right behind her, she opened the door. The weather had worsened a great deal and it was raining harder than ever. Ed opened the umbrella and immediately got underneath it, Winry next to him. They walked, wrapped up in a comfortable silence for once until he noticed her shivering. Of course...she was definitely not dressed for this kind of weather.

"Are you cold?" he asked, already shrugging off his red coat.

"N-no I'm f-fine. Wait wha-?" she started but was cut off when Ed threw the coat in her face.

She glared,"Why'd you do that for?!"

He smirked,"I don't think you should be talking like that to someone who was actually generous enough to give you his coat."

Winry looked lost for a minute before staring at the coat for a moment and realizing," I-I don't need it! I-I'm f-fine! You're going to freeze! I hope you're not sick already." Her teeth were chattering but she still refused the coat and shoved it towards him.

Ed shook his head,"No, take it or else _you're _the one who'll freeze," he insisted.

She frowned,"No! It's yours so take it! You're dripping wet and without your coat you're only wearing a thin shirt! You _need _it!" she argued but Ed was having none of it.

Ed shoved the coat into her arms with his free hand, "No goddamn it, my shirt is better than a T-shirt that barely covers anything!"

She groaned and pushed it back towards him, "Ugh! Just take it!"

"No!" he shoved it back towards her.

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

He grabbed the coat and forced it on her. She yelped in surprise and started protesting immediately but Ed managed to get her arms through the sleeves. With a huff of annoyance from her and a triumphant grin from him, they resumed their walking in silence.

Winry, clearly irritated with her arms crossed firmly under her chest started complaining,"It's too big for me."

"Better, it'll keep you warmer." Ed deadpanned, trying to stop the grin from growing.

Winry glared at him,"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do now without warmth, idiot?"

Ed shrugged," 'M fine," he answered casually.

Winry snorted in a very unladylike way but decided not to argue any further, convinced that he would not change his mind.

"At least I hope you don't get ill," she murmured softly after a few minutes of silent walking.

Ed smiled, "I won't," he replied,"Where do you live by the way?"

"Oh, my house is just at the end of this road. I'll tell you when we get there." She shivered and pulled the coat tighter around herself absentmindedly, "Where do you live?" she asked.

"About three blocks away."

"Oh."

They continued walking in a now comfortable silence once again until they reached Winry's house.

"Well here's my stop!" she said happily, all her former anger vanishing in the air.

Ed blinked, "Oh. Really? That was fast..." he said, grinning sheepishly, making her giggle, "Yeah it was pretty fast actually," she blushed, "I guess time flies when you're having fun."

Ed gave her a smile,"Yeah, I guess it does."

"So, See you, soon?" Winry waved.

"Yeah, see you Winry" Ed replied, waving back.

She unlocked the door and after looking over her shoulder to give Ed a smile, she stepped in the house. Ed started walking away, his coat completely forgotten as he now had other things on his mind to worry about.

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**~A review is appreciated as well as any ideas you might have for future chapters!~**

**UNTIL NEXT TIME FOLKS!**


	6. Not Knowing The Feeling

**Hello! I'm here with the new chappy! Whoo! Wow, I can't believe that I'm actually at chapter 6 already! :o So, anyway, I'm sorry this is kind of late but I fell sick and I had a TERRIBLE headache and I couldn't write anything for 3-4 days! *shot* But now the chappy's here and I proudly announce that it's the longest chapter I've written! It's almost 5000 words! :O SO ENJOY! (lol this chappy's title is a little random but okay.)  
**

**Discalimer: I DO NOT OWN FMA Q_Q**

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_NOT KNOWING THE FEELING_

It had been 3 days since Ed and Winry's meeting and Ed was having a hard time forgetting it. He was positive Al had noticed a change in his brother's behaviour but if he really had, he had chosen not to show it. Actually, it seemed more like he was ignoring the fact that Ed spaced out more than ever and he even failed to comment on the sudden disappearance of his famous red coat, not to mention the nasty cold he had eventually caught from ditching school, which was yet another thing that Al decided not to complain about. Normally, Al knew Ed had left school early by the time he got home and always gave him a one-hour lecture of why he shouldn't skip school and how important it was for one's future. Ed knew Al couldn't be considered stupid in any way possible, and so he found it rather weird for him not to worry and ask annoying questions over and over again.

It didn't take Ed long to figure out that Al _was _aware of everything that was going on and was just looking for a perfect opportunity to confront his brother about it. Thinking twice, Al was the kind of person who took the challenge and tried to figure things out by himself and not asking for the easy way out but Ed would make sure the younger blond never succeeded in that, or he would definitely die from the humiliation for his childish actions, not to mention the constant teasing that would follow shortly after would be deadly annoying.

Surprisingly, none of the usual crap came this time and instead the day had carried on normally, save for the occasional glares Al sent his way and the fierce staring that he used exclusively for studying subjects he couldn't understand. Ed was starting to get fed up with all the intense and extremely uncomfortable silence that followed many forced conversations between the brothers these past few days and was slowly reaching his limit. What exactly did Al expect from him?

And so, when the Elric brothers were just stepping out of the house, and heading towards the shops, Ed grabbed his brown coat and Al decided to finally start asking the questions Ed had been fearing.

"Brother," Al started, making Ed pause with putting on his coat and instead turn his attention to his younger brother, a slight confused expression on his face.

"Yeah Al?" he asked, unfreezing and resuming his former actions. He bent down to slip his shoes on while waiting for an answer.

"Where's your red coat?" Al continued, as if he had just noticed the coat was missing.

Oh great. How could he reply to that now? He had thought of many lies beforehand but right now none of them seemed appealing. He didn't want to lie to Al. He _couldn't_ lie to him, or he'd know right away. But, he couldn't disclose the truth either. He couldn't possibly say that he'd given it to Winry...

'_Think, think, think!'_

"Uh, I lost it," replied Ed, bluntly. He had never been a good liar. Al would never believe such an obvious lie, for Ed had always been extremely careful not to lose his things and so, he never did, especially his favourite red coat.

"Liar," Al stated, flatly, "You didn't lose it, you're lying brother," he continued, making sweat form on Ed's forehead as he anxiously tried to find another lie. When nothing came to mind, he chose to stick with the current one.

"Al, I lost it, really," Ed insisted, "Come on, let's go and buy the stuff we need or it'll start raining," he finished, silently praying for Al to let it go as he walked down the road until Al caught his sleeve, much to Ed's dismay.

"You're lying, tell me the truth," Al sighed, seeming disappointed with his brother's distrust, "These past few days you've been completely in your own little world and I can't figure out why! You ditch school _again,_ then you lose your coat – which by the way, you never do – and now you're wearing the brown coat you always hated simply because the label had the word short written on it, like it's an everyday thing! Come on brother, I'm not stupid, something's wrong."

Damn you Al and your logic.

Ed heaved a sigh he hadn't realized he'd been holding. If Al wanted the truth, he'd have it. Just...not all of it.

"Fine, I gave it to someone and forgot to take it back," Ed admitted, and did his best to stop the blush from forming.

Al seemed to be examining the older blond for a minute, as he had leaned in closer to his brother with his eyes narrowed in deep thought before raising his eyebrows and pulling back, "Wow, you're not lying. So, who did you give it to? It must've been someone important, for you never lend your coat to anyone, let alone forget about it afterwards."

Ed shrugged, acting indifferent, but couldn't stop the slight blush from colouring his cheeks, "Nah, it was nobody really, just someone who was freezing simply because she was stupid enough to wear a T-shirt while it was raining," he replied, some of his former irritation returning while remembering the argument that had taken place between him and the girl.

Al raised his eyebrows and was silent for a few seconds, before smirking, "She?" he asked, his tone teasing, but curious nonetheless.

Ed started blankly at him for a moment before turning the colour of a tomato and exploded,"WHO TOLD YOU THAT!? H-HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW IT WASN'T A HE, HUH!? WHY DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO ASSUME IT'S A GIRL WHEN IT ISN'T!? AL, SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? I THINK THE BEAN GIRL'S GOTTEN TO YOU, DON'T YOU THINK!?" he shouted, breathing heavily due to lack of oxygen.

Al watched the scene in front of him with mild amusement, "Brother, you just said it's a she yourself," he paused and chuckled slightly, "Besides, I don't really think you're the type who'd lend your coat to a guy." He seemed to picture it and small chuckles turned into hysterical laughter.

Ed flushed a deep crimson. He had just flat out humiliated himself in front of his baby brother. Oh joy.

"W-what are you laughing at!? S-stop it!" he shouted, slightly stuttering.

Al wiped the tears that had formed in his eyes, "What's her name?" he asked, only to receive a blank stare from Ed, "Huh?"

Al rolled his eyes,"The girl, Ed...The girl that has your coat,"

"O-oh _that_ girl..." Ed said, suddenly finding great interest in the ground below.

"Yes brother, that girl. What's her name?" Al repeated his question, slightly exasperated.

"Winry," Ed blurted out before he could stop himself and immediately bit his tongue afterwards.

Al smirked teasingly and raised his eyebrows,"Uh huh."

Unable to handle anymore, Ed started walking towards their forgotten destination, "Now let's go to the damn shops!"

Al shook his head with a smile, "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

After they had returned home, the brothers started putting everything to its respectful place in the kitchen and Ed realized, almost instantly, that they hadn't bought any coffee.

"Al..." he started, eyes wide,"Please tell me we've got coffee somewhere..." He looked at his brother expectantly who merely shrugged without meeting his brother's gaze as he was too busy placing the cereal in the bottom cupboards, "I thought we had some...?" he said, sounding unsure.

Ed opened the top cupboard and groaned, "No we don't," he face palmed and let out a frustrated breath, "Well, I'm going to a cafeteria 'cause I need some damn coffee!"

He grabbed his brown coat for the second time that day and hurriedly made his way to the door, trying his best not to knock it down from sheer annoyance. He only paused when he heard footsteps behind him,"Brother wait up! I'm coming with you, I really need a coffee right now myself," Al said while trying to put his shoes on as fast as possible.

Ed shrugged,"Whatever, let's just go already."

They practically ran to the cafeteria in fear of rain, as the sky had once again turned an ominous black colour and a slight rumble could be heard not too far away.

But they stopped as Al remembered something,"Brother! The cafeteria we usually go to is closed today," he informed the older blond, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and turn sharply to look at him in complete disbelief,"And you tell me that _now?_"

Al shrugged,"Forgot. Let's just go somewhere else," he replied, the slight disappointment he felt evident in his tone. That cafeteria made such great coffee!

"Ugh, fine. Pick a place," Ed grumbled, starting to think the coffee wasn't even worth all the trouble anymore.

Al looked around, frowning softly as he carefully considered their options. Once he decided, a smile replaced the frown, "Let's go there!" He pointed to a rather small building that looked more like a small mini market rather than a cafeteria. Ed stared at it for a moment as he considered it. His brother always surprised him with his bizarre choices.

He sighed and nodded,"Ok, hurry up though or I'll regret coming here in the first place," he murmured, irritated.

They walked inside the building and Ed was rather impressed by the actual size of it as well as the style. The walls were painted a nice brown colour and together with the nice painted designs, it instantly made one feel warm and comfortable. Each table had two lighter brown couches placed facing each other at either side of it and from the looks of it, they seemed pretty relaxing.

The workers' dress code was matching the general colouring of the room, as the males wore dark brown pants with a creamy coloured T-shirt while the females wore a slightly inviting, cute, short brown dress with a white apron. Finally, the temperature was not too cold but not too hot either, making everyone enjoy their orders with no worry.

Ed and Al sat at an empty table beside a large window, giving them a perfect view of the outside world, and waited patiently for someone to come for their orders. That is, until Al stood up, "I'm going to the bathroom brother. If someone comes to take our order tell them I want a coffee – you know how I like it." And with that, Al quickly made his way to the bathroom and disappeared from Ed's view.

Ed rested his head on his palm and sighed. He turned to look out the window and couldn't help but notice how better the weather actually was now. '_At least it's not raining'_ he thought.

"May I take your order?" asked a female voice from beside him, and as he turned to regard her, he couldn't help but gasp,"W-Winry!?"

She mimicked his actions immediately after recognizing him,"Ed!" she exclaimed, her shock quickly turned into happiness as she threw herself to him in a bone crushing hug, making Ed feel extremely uncomfortable and hot by the close proximity as their bodies touched in awkward places. He couldn't help but take in her scent, which was nothing he had ever smelled before. It was like a mixture of perfume and shampoo, and the faint smell of coffee and, to Ed's confusion, oil could be picked up as well.

"Shh, s-stop shouting!" he whispered embarrassedly as her arms squeezed his neck even more. Did she seriously want the entire cafeteria's attention?

She let go of him and pulled back from the hug completely, much to Ed's disappointment but relief as well. What's up with the mixed up emotions?

"Sorry," she squeaked, blushing slightly. Ed nodded when she suddenly gasped, as if remembering something.

"Wait here," she ordered and retreated into an 'Only staff' room. Ed stared at the door curiously while praying for Al not to appear just yet or the unwanted teasing would be endless. Why was life so hard on him? He just wanted some damn coffee!

His thoughts were cut off when Winry reappeared and made her way towards him again, this time holding something red in her delicate arms.

Ed eyed it suspiciously when she extended her hand, silently telling him to take it. When she saw his confused expression she spoke, "Your coat," she said, and that was all Ed needed to recall all the past events and realize that indeed it was his long gone coat.

"O-oh," was all he said as he stared dumbly at it in his hand.

She chuckled slightly, "I washed it for you too,"

Ed fixed his eyes on her,"Hey thanks."

He smiled and she smiled back,"And now, your order?" she asked, taking a little notebook out her slightly stained apron pocket.

Ed rested the coat on the space next to him and turned to Winry with a thoughtful expression,"Yeah, um, I want a coffee – no milk and with two spoonfuls of sugar and my brother – "

"You have a brother!?" she burst out, cutting him off.

"Y-yeah," Ed replied, slightly taken aback by her overly excited demeanour.

"Aww! Is he younger? Older?" she gasped, "Twins maybe!?" she squealed, making Ed stared at her, wide eyed as she leaner uncomfortable close while she waited impatiently for a reply. She was so close that he could feel her breath caressing his face and blushed at the closeness and slowly moved backwards to retrieve a little of his personal space.

"H-he's one year younger," he replied breathlessly. He suddenly found breathing a very hard thing to do.

She grinned and leaned back, squeezing the small notebook in her hands so tight Ed thought it was going to break, "Aw!"

Ed thought hard for a moment, "So, you work here..." he half questioned, half stated in an attempt to change the subject.

Her grin widened as she nodded, "Yeah! I need the money since my grandmother's automail business isn't going very well lately," she replied, her grin slowly turning into a sad smile.

Ed, upon taking notice of the change of her facial expression, decided to change the subject once more, hopeful to bring back that aura of happiness the girl was emitting just a few moments ago,"Oh, I'm sorry. Automail you say? You like automail or is it just something only your grandmother's into?" Well, that might explain the reason he picked up the smell of oil coming from her hair earlier.

Her smile turned into a happy one again as she thought of her answer, "Well, I really like automail myself, though it's mostly my grandma's passion. I'm more into ice skating. BUT," she extended her hands, as if to keep Ed from commenting just yet, "I've made my own automail _and _I've helped during several surgeries," she finished and put her hands on her hips proudly.

Ed smiled, "Oh, I see. The surgeries must've been hard..." he said, his voice fading into a mere murmur as his own surgery came into his mind and he had to suppress a shudder.

Winry raised her eyebrows,"Yes, they were. How do you know so much about automail?" she inquired curiously as her eyes started to sparkle ominously. '_She's getting excited...'_ Ed thought, cautiously.

Ed looked around to see if they had anyone's attention, and when he was positive they hadn't, he slowly started slipping his right glove off. He didn't usually show people his automail in fear of instant rejection or even ridicule, but this girl seemed to know her stuff and Edward decided to give her his trust on this one.

Once the shining metal caught her eye, she gasped and put a hand over her mouth, "You have automail!" she squeaked rather loudly, making a number of heads turn their attention on the blond couple.

Ed looked nervously around as he slipped the glove back on quickly,"Shh! It's supposed to be a secret!" he whispered harshly and that made her shut up instantly.

She smacked both hands over her mouth, her eyes wide as she glanced around, just like a child who had just spat a curse word by mistake and was anxiously looking around in fear of someone hearing.

"Sorry," she murmured, her voice muffled by her hands.

Ed shook his head with a heavy sigh. He could already feel a headache forming, "It's ok, just don't go shouting it again. I don't want people to know."

She nodded furiously, finally releasing her mouth from the pressure her hands were applying, "Of course! But, why? I don't really understand..." she trailed off and blushed slightly,"Y-you know...I-I like guys with automail..." she trailed off again, seeming regretful for even saying anything in the first place as she played with a loose strand of her little dress by wrapping it around her index finger and stared intensely at the floor.

Ed blushed when the words finally sunk in,"W-What?"

She shook her head furiously,"N-no, no! N-never m-mind!" she stuttered and her pink blush turned into a bright crimson as she spoke her next sentence,"B-but, y-you could always c-come to my place so I c-can check the 'mail out!" she burst out and Ed's very confused and slightly stunned stare forced her to continue babbling,"O-only if you want to of course! N-no one's forcing you, I-I just thought it would be fun, no wait it wouldn't be fun for you, ok uuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhh maybe you could just come over? My granny will l-love to have you!" she paused and her eyes widened and she stretched her hands in front of Ed,"N-not that I wouldn't! B-but I'm just saying you know? Oh! I hope your mechanic doesn't get mad, because you know – I would! And-"she cut herself off, gasping for air. When she finally received the much needed oxygen, she sighed," You didn't understand a word I said, did you?"

Ed, who was currently stunned beyond belief, gave a slow and hesitant shake of the head in reply, resulting to another sigh to escape from her lips, "If you want you can come to my house for me to check out your automail," she repeated, much more calmly this time and upon taking notice of her own words, her eyes widened as her whole face lit up once again and gathered tears from sheer embarrassment, she quickly blinked furiously to get rid of them.

Ed blushed a bright crimson himself and turned his gaze to the ground while mouthing his reply, "S-sure, I don't mind, plus, I don't have a mechanic and I haven't had a tune up in years, so maybe it'll be good for me."

His answer seemed to relieve her incredibly as her body visibly relaxed and her face now bore a smile so gigantic and bliss, he couldn't help but think of Mei, who also owned those kinds of smiles. Her eyes sparkled and she seemed to be on the verge of tears – happy tears,"Yay!"she shouted happily.

"Brother?" came a voice from behind Winry, making her turn curiously and Ed tense. She gasped once she took in his features and turned to spare a glance at Ed, her eyes wide, before direct her eyes back at Al. She did this a few times until she finally grinned, "The brother!" she exclaimed triumphantly, pointing at Al, as if she had caught a thief and had to be congratulated.

Al stood there, a little shocked and mildly confused until he looked at Ed, seeking answers, "Um brother? Who's thi-"he was cut off by an over excited Winry grabbing his hand and shaking it so hard that Ed couldn't help but worry if his brother's arm would survive the attack.

"Hello! I'm Winry Rockbell! You must be Ed's younger brother! It's such a pleasure to meet you!" Wow, you two really look alike!" she introduced herself and her eyes sparkled as she considered Al carefully.

Despite this, Al smiled, "Hello Winry. I'm Alphonse Elric and yes I am indeed Ed's younger brother."

_'Oh Al and the charms...'_ Ed thought with a roll of his eyes, as he tried hiding his blushing face with a hand as much as possible.

"Aw, you're so sweet!" she replied blissfully, obviously neither of them noticing the amount of attention they were attracting with their loud voices.

Suddenly, Al gasped and his own eyes started sparkling as well. Ed mentally groaned.

"You're that ice skater!" Al squeaked happily, making Ed's eyes widen. How had he noticed so fast!? Oh man, the teasing that would follow all this would be torture...Ed just wanted to bang his head on the table again, and again, and _again. _AND WHERE WAS THAT DAMN COFFEE!?

Winry grinned,"You mean the one on Saturday?" When Al nodded, she gasped happily,"YOU WERE THERE!?" she shouted shocked, slightly flushed.

"Yeah!" Al said, equally excited as the blonde girl in front of him,"You were _amazing!_ And brother couldn't take his eyes off you!" he giggled while saying the last part and smiled teasingly at Ed when she turned an even deeper shade of red. Ed copied her facial expression perfectly and scowled at Al from behind Winry when he gave him a look. _Here we go..._

Winry was babbling something about how _not _good she was and not accepting any complement and once she finished, Al smiled, said something in reply and sat on the couch opposite of his brother.

An awkward silence fell upon the three until Ed broke into a coughing fit and Winry's eyes widened as she gasped,"You're sick!" She sat quickly on the couch next to him, and rested a hand on his forehead, ignoring the protests coming from the sick blond and the surprised but pleased expressions Al was showing.

"You liar! You said you wouldn't get sick if I borrowed your coat! But now look at you! I think you have a fever!" Winry exclaimed angrily, finally withdrawing her hand from Ed's forehead.

"Come on, It's only a little cold, besides, I don't have a fever, it's just your hands that are cold and upon making contact with my warmer skin, it seems to you that I'm burning when I'm not. The only way to know for sure is to kiss someone's forehead." _Well, at least that was what mum always said..._

She stared blankly at him for a moment and blinked before blushing and turned her gaze to stare at her lap.

Once Ed realized what he had just said and suggested, he turned as red as a cherry himself and avoided eye contact at all costs, just like she was doing.

Al seemed to be highly amused and incredibly entertained by the whole scene, since he had rested his head on the palms of his hands with his eyebrows sky-high and a smirk placed firmly on his lips. That little brat was definitely going to pay for this later...

Winry hesitantly placed her hands on Ed's shoulders, and surprising not only Ed and Al but herself as well, she moved closer until her lips touched Ed's forehead, making both teens turn an unhealthy colour of red. '_She actually did it!'_ Ed was screaming inside his head.

Once Winry drew back, she frowned softly, deep in thought.

She smiled, "You're right. You don't have a fever!" she announced happily and got up from her place on the couch, acting as if nothing had just transpired.

She cleared her throat, "And now, may I take your order? I already have Ed's written down but what about you Alphonse?"

"Al's ok," Al corrected before continuing, "I want a coffee with milk and a spoonful of sugar please."

The lemon blonde girl nodded as she scribbled down the order and placed the small notebook back in her pocket, "Be right back!" she sang and turned to make her leave, leaving the brothers alone once again.

Ed decided to act indifferently and not meet his brother's gaze or he was sure to regret it. First off, he needed to know what that feeling in his chest was or he wouldn't be ready to face his brother's teasing head on. He tried to delay the questions, smart remarks, comments or anything else that might be swimming inside of Al's head, ready to set free and eventually reach Ed's ears, as much as he could.

Ed picked up the menu and started flickering through it; it's not like he was interested or anything, he just needed something to occupy himself to avoid a conversation with Al. After a minute or so of doing just that, he heard Al starting to hum and risked a glance to the younger blond's direction. Unfortunately for him, that's all Al needed to start a conversation.

"So..._That's_ Winry huh," he nodded with a mischievous smile.

Ed decided not to comment, hopeful that Al would get the message and drop it, his eyes never left the menu in front of him as he turned the page and started reading the beverages the cafeteria offered. His hope was crushed as Al did just the opposite and continued, "Did she give you back your coat?" he asked, in a lesser teasing tone this time, as it was masked with curiosity, but Ed wasn't going to be fooled and just pointed next to him where the red cloth lay, still not moving his eyes from the letters in front of him.

Al nodded, seeming satisfied. He stopped talking for a minute or two, making Ed believe he had given up on trying to get the older blond to talk. Winry eventually returned with their coffees and left as fast as she came to serve another costumer, leaving a "I hope you enjoy them!" behind with a grin. Neither brother replied, each one of them doing their own thing. Al took a sip of his coffee and smiled,"Hey! This is pretty good!"

Ed, who was starting to get bored with reading the menu for the third time, put it down and instead shifted his attention on the coffee in front of him. He took a sip and smiled himself,"Yeah! I guess coming here _was_ worth it in the end," he exclaimed happily, taking another sip.

Al grinned,"Duh, _of course_ it was worth coming here, brother," he said, teasing, as he smirked ever so slightly.

Ed rolled his eyes and took a large gulp out of his coffee,"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he murmured, irritated.

Al chuckled and raised his eyebrows, "I wonder what Roy would say if I told him about," he paused and leaned closer to Ed, as if not wanting anyone to listen in on their conversation, "your little crush," he whispered, looking proud at the reaction it got out of his brother.

Ed blushed, "I don't have a crush on her!" he shouted, not as many heads turning this time as they soon got used to the loud voices coming from that particular table and chose to ignore them. Even so, Ed shut himself up immediately, looking around as if to count how many heads turned, but was in fact searching for a certain blonde girl with a love for ice skating. Once he was sure she wasn't nearby, he leaned closer to Al, who was already sprawled over the table, and repeated, "I don't have a freaking crush on her!" he whispered back harshly.

Al rolled his eyes,"Yeah right. I've seen how you look at her or how you blush every time. I'm not stupid brother!" he murmured exasperatedly.

Ed narrowed his eyes,"Damn it Al, I'm not crushing on that crazy chick!" he muttered back angrily.

Al sighed but challenged his brother's stubbornness,"You gave her your _coat_," he shot.

"Coincidence!" Ed shot back aggressively.

"You blush all the time and you basically asked her to kiss your forehead!" Al argued.

Ed blushed at the reminder of his stupidity,"C-coincidence! " he insisted.

"Not everything in life is a coincidence brother!" Al breathed, slightly breathless from arguing in whispers and having his lugs practically crushed by the table wasn't helping much either.

Ed was sure he and Al were being thought of as insane people, as actually lying on the table of a cafeteria and whispering harshly to each other as if secretly discussing criminal activity wasn't very sane to begin with, but he wasn't going to complain since he would rather die than have Winry accidentally listen to the crazy things his brother was accusing him of.

When he couldn't stand the pointless argument anymore, he cut Al off mid sentence as he abruptly stood up and started walking towards the exit. Al followed soon after, and once he paid Winry, complemented her on the coffee and wished her a good afternoon, they both left the cafeteria, angry and frustrated with each other.

All the way back home, they stayed silent and that allowed Ed's mind to reflect on their previous argument. He was still seeking an answer to the question of what was the feeling he felt every time he saw or spoke to Winry and now Al had given him something to consider. Did he actually like her? But, that couldn't be! She's nuts! Way too energetic and social for him. They were polar opposites! He usually detested girls like her, just like the bean girl, _way _too happy and blissfully in their own little world with their own little dreams.

Ed heaved a heavy sigh and picked up his pace in order to catch up with Al. He didn't know what the feeling was, but as the stubborn character he was, he vowed to find out or it would eat him alive.

* * *

**SOOOO what did you guys think? :D **

***sniff* I actually made Winry not so enthusiastic about ****_automail _****OH I'M HORRIBLE but...*evil grin* she'll come to like it more heheh. **

**A review makes me happy you know! :DD As well as any idea you might have for this fic! 83**


	7. Life Is Weird Sometimes

**Hiii! I'm back here and I'm updating with again, a HUGE chappy. I've noticed that every time my chapters just keep getting longer and longer. From 5000 which was my last chapter, this one's 6000+ just wth? LOL Anyway, this is from Winry's POV and it's basically a chapter of Winry's daily life. An important chappy for the story, I believe. All right, now enjoy the large chappy of Winry's thoughts hehe.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction for it, simple as that.**

* * *

_LIFE IS WEIRD SOMETIMES_

_She could hear the claps and excited voices coming from the crowd as she carefully made her way towards the centre of the ice skating rink. She was feeling nervous and extremely anxious, her own heartbeat loud enough for the others to hear. Her hands were shaking and sweating but she chose to ignore it and instead inhaled sharply in an attempt to calm her nerves._

_She was now standing in the centre of the ice skating rink with her little pink dress on, her hair tied up in a high, neat ponytail._

_"Go Winry!" she could hear her friends shout in encouragement, but that only made her nerves worse. _

_She had been practicing for this since she was 7 and now, at 12 years old she felt ready to perform at the most famous female ice skating competition in the whole of Amestris. She had seen the other competitors perform, and she had to admit that she was blown away by their delicate moves. Her dream was to be like them but right now, she was at a disadvantage due to her young age. She didn't seem to care though, and that's why she was currently standing in front of millions of people ready to enjoy the performance. _

_The spotlight came on and the music followed shortly after, signalling her to start. Winry moved her feet slowly and as the music picked up, she followed suit. She thought it was easy in the beginning, since she had done so many rehearsals, but again, she was getting more nervous by the second._

_Her performance was going smoothly and she was slowly building up confidence. The music started going faster and she instantly remembered what her teacher had told her to look out for. She jumped and spined in perfect sync with the music and upon hearing the cheering, she suddenly felt much better._

_This was her dream. She had to win the competition and be one of the best or her mother wouldn't have been proud of her if she were to see otherwise. Winry risked a smile which was immediately wiped away as she felt her foot land awkwardly on the ice and caused her to tumble backwards and fall down ungracefully. It was like the whole world stopped right then and there. She heard the concerned shouts of her friends and family as well as other stunned gasps and whispering coming from other people she didn't know. Her twisted foot was hurting pretty baldly but she didn't care. The only thing that was on her mind was how she had failed. She had failed her mother, her father, her friends, her grandmother, her teacher...She failed herself._

_The music stopped and she could hear people calling her name from the crowd but she didn't pay attention to anything. She had failed. Winry felt her eyes fill with hot tears but she made no effort to hold them back, and left them to freely trail down her cheeks, staining her pretty face. She wasn't good enough._

_Not good enough..._

Winry awoke with a gasp, as she abruptly sat up in her bed, eyes wide and covered in cold sweat, with the covers held tightly in her fists. She tried to make her racing heart to slow down by taking deep breaths. This nightmare had been haunting her nights ever since the day it occurred and even though she tried to convince herself she had gotten used to it, she knew that wasn't the case. The first few nights since it started happening, she would cry and whimper in her sleep and her grandmother would get up and try to comfort her. She stopped appearing though after she realized that what Winry really needed was privacy and not someone saying it's going to be ok when the blonde knows deep inside that is isn't.

Winry lied back down on her bed with a heavy sigh and wiped the tears that had rolled down her cheeks during her sleep. That day she had felt so many emotions build up inside her; guilt and self disappointment being two of the strongest. Everyone had helped and supported her and she had failed all of them...

Once she calmed down, she realized just how hot she was feeling at threw the covers on the floor. She closed her eyes in a useless attempt of falling back to sleep and curled up in a protective ball. She opened an eye to glance at the clock – 5a.m. She sighed as she closed it again and waited patiently for the horrible memory of that day to leave her mind. Once she trusted herself to walk, she got up and headed downstairs, quietly not to wake her grandmother.

She opened the kitchen door slowly, poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down in one go. She decided to hang around the house a little, just to pass the time, or even work on a costumer's automail. Upon thinking about automail, her mind unwillingly went to Ed. She reflected on their meeting the day before and couldn't help but flash a small grin, remembering her own stupidity and how she had made a complete fool of herself. She suddenly felt a pang of excitement fill her chest when she thought about him coming over for her to check out his 'mail. Winry had no idea when his last maintenance was, and since he had said that he had no mechanic, she figured his automail would be in a terrible shape.

She chuckled slightly and opened the door to enter her bedroom again. She plopped down on her bed and opened her phone, the only light in the room now coming from the screen. She skimmed through her contacts and her eyes rested on Ed's number, that's when she started having doubts. Did he really want to come over though or did she force him to accept without knowing? Maybe he didn't like her and found her annoying...

She sighed and leaned back until the upper half of her body was resting on the mattress while her feet were still steady on the floor, her eyes not leaving the number a second. She had no idea what to do. Should she call him and ask him to come over? But how would he react? Winry felt her heart start beating faster as she thought of calling him. She had always found it easier to talk with a person face to face rather than through the phone or she got extremely nervous for no reason. Her friends and grandmother always said she was being ridiculous and paranoid and that in reality, talking to someone via mobile was much easier than being stuck with the person next to you, especially when you wanted to ask something you were anxious about. But for Winry it had always been the opposite, and now she figured that calling Ed had proved to be twice as hard. She wondered why.

Winry spared a glance at her clock, hoping that it would be 7a.m. already so she could start getting ready for school – 6:47a.m. With a sigh, she snapped her phone shut and practically threw it at the opposite wall and lifted her hand to cover her eyes. She didn't have to think about that right now. It was very early and calling him now would not only be annoying for him, but it would also give the impression of her being obsessed – which she clearly wasn't!

She got up and walked lazily towards her closet. As she didn't have anything to do, she might as well choose what to wear for school. She didn't usually care about her appearance, and wore whatever seemed comfy enough to suit her moods but when she had nothing else to do; she saw it as a time-passing activity.

She suddenly remembered that having light would make the choosing a lot easier, so before taking out the first piece of clothing, she opened her shutters, squinting slightly once the bright morning sun hit her unprepared eyes. Once she had firmly placed the curtains across the window, she made her way to resume her previous task.

The blonde first pulled out a sweater, since the weather would be sunny but chilly nonetheless; she didn't want to risk catching a cold. This sweater was one of her favourites. It was plain, a light shade of gray – almost like a creamy colour, and from what her friends had said; it looked perfect on her. It had always been a little too big, for the sleeves were longer than her hands and it usually slipped off her shoulder slightly but that was just a plus for her since it made it extremely comfortable and warm - as well as cute, as her friends had added.

She threw it on her bed and went to grab a pair of cosy black jeans. As soon as she was satisfied with her choice of clothing, she bent down and shoved herself in the closet to get her pair of light blue sneakers. According to her mood today, she was going to wear loose clothes, nothing that would make her uncomfortable and somehow make the day go by at a snail's pace.

As soon as she was done with choosing her clothing, she decided to take a cold shower to wake her up a bit, and also to wash off the sweat by her horrible dream. Winry grabbed her towel and headed towards the bathroom slowly, as she still had plenty of time before school started at 8:30. The blonde opened the bathroom door and hurriedly walked inside. She lay the towel on the toilet seat and after stripping down, she allowed the water to caress her skin.

It had been several minutes since Winry had been in the shower and once she finally finished, she faintly heard her grandmother downstairs, probably making breakfast in the kitchen. She smiled to herself as she wrapped her body in the towel and grabbed her brush. She walked in front of the mirror and gently started brushing her hair, being extra careful while dealing with knots. She cleaned her teeth, and once she found herself presentable, she made her way back to her room to get dressed.

She sat on her bed, hairdryer in hand as she slowly dried her hair. Grabbing the clothes sprawled out on her bed, she quickly slipped them on and descended the stairs to greet her granny.

"Morning Granny," Winry greeted, making the elder woman turn around with a smile.

"Good morning Winry," she greeted back while setting two plates of toast and two glasses filled with fresh orange juice on the table before taking a seat. Winry moved further into the kitchen and took a seat opposite of her grandmother.

They ate in silence, just like any other morning, neither of them being in the mood to converse at such an early hour. Winry picked up a piece of toast, and after applying some jam she shoved it all in her mouth, making a noise that sounded like a grunt of discomfort at having so much to chew at once. Upon swallowing, she gulped down all her orange juice, and with a glance at the clock she abruptly got up from her chair and went to get her bag.

With a quick goodbye to her grandmother, she grabbed her white jacket, left the warmth of the house and instead dove into the cold to go to the place she hated the most. School. No, no, Winry wasn't like any other teenager who expressed their dislike for school for no apparent reason. She had a reason. And a pretty good one as well. The school she went to was dubbed 'Ouroboros Amestian High School', a creepy name, Winry had thought the first time she heard it. Her grandmother had sent her there just because that school was the closest to their house, and since they had some commuting problems, the nearer the better. But that's where the good things end. Firstly, all the kids were mostly bullies, with no goal in life and found pleasure in making other people cry and feel uncomfortable. Winry was highly aware of the forbidden acts and behaviour the students did and showed most of the time and made an effort to avoid getting involved with anything she would regret later on. They had no respect for teachers, let alone fellow students and the school floors were littered with anything a human mind could think of. Vandalism was an everyday thing; broken windows or trashed classrooms were seen most days of the week and Winry always just shook her head in disapproval and continued her day normally. It wasn't like she could do anything...

Despite all this, Winry found herself humming as she walked down the wet roads towards her school. Like hell she was going to allow something like that ruin her mood! Once the large black gates of the school were visible, Winry couldn't help but sigh when she saw the most popular bully and his 'friends' waiting at the gate for their daily victims. Winry had set survival rules for herself ever since her first day, and every morning she replayed them in her head.

Rule #1: Ignore bullies and don't let them get to you.

Winry was sure they had spotted her by now, for she was very close. Her heart unwillingly started beating faster and instinctively she made a grab for her wrench. Ever since Winry had saved herself once by the bullies with the tool, she had been carrying it with her just in case and many times found herself having a death grip on it as she waited for the bullies to pass and decide to ignore her.

One of the bullies turned and smirked upon seeing her, and he started moving closer, the others right behind him. Winry didn't even spare them a glance as she opened the black gate of the school. A hand flew in front of her and snapped the gate closed and the bully leaned casually against it.

"What's up Rockbell?" he asked, his smirk still in place.

Winry did nothing to show she acknowledged the group and instead tried pulling the gate open again. This had the opposite effect of what she'd been hoping for however, as the bully snapped and shoved her hard enough for her to lose her balance and fall on the floor.

"Damn it, don't go ignoring _me_ like that you scum!" he shouted while Winry picked herself up, still not looking at the bully in the eye. She wanted to use her wrench and knock the lights out of him right there and then, but if a teacher were to see her, he'd think that _she_ was the bully, not the other way around and would get in trouble.

Winry made another futile attempt to ignore him and open the gate to school but the bully grabbed her hand, "Don't you have ears _Miss Rockbell_?" he said angrily, and squeezed her hand so hard she had to bite back a cry of pain. There was clearly going to be a bruise there later.

Winry had had enough and decided to open her mouth, "Let go of me Envy!" she hissed, equally angry with the bully and tried to wrestle her arm free from his grasp.

Envy opened his mouth to speak but a hand appeared on his shoulder and silenced him, "Envy, teachers are coming this way," a girl with beautiful black hair and sharp blue, almost purple eyes said calmly.

Envy cursed and let go of Winry's arm,"We'll finish this later Rockbell." He and the others started moving away from her and Winry let out a sigh of relief. She looked at her wrench and decided to safely put it in her bag for next time and then with ease, she opened the black gates and entered the yard of the school, and then the building.

The inside of the school was as always, full of empty tin cans, graffiti and cigarettes. Winry ignored everything and everyone, since Rule#2 clearly said: Don't stare if you don't want to be stared at. She walked discretely down the hallways and towards her locker. She finished just in time as the bell rang and all the students groaned and sluggishly went towards their classes. Winry decided to hang around a little and then she'd make her grand escape and go ice skating once again. She felt bad for ditching school and afterwards lying to her grandmother about it, but what else could she possibly do? Staying here all day was out of the question or she'd probably return home with a black eye. She had informed her grandmother of her feelings for this particular school and she had replied with a promising "We'll see if you can change schools. But don't be too sure." Winry had felt extremely happy that moment but she quickly convinced herself not to get her hopes up.

She was able to withstand a few hours of boredom but once lunch break came, Winry found herself exiting those big black gates she had so much trouble entering this morning with a heavy sigh. Luckily, she had kept a low profile so no one noticed her absence, and allowed her to slowly make her way towards her favourite place.

She was thankful it wasn't raining, but the weather had gone colder and that made her shiver as she instinctively pulled her coat closer to her body. She was halfway to the ice skating rink and she couldn't help but hope that she could grab something warm to drink and eat, since her stomach was growling pretty badly. When the building came into view, she sighed in relief and picked up her pace towards it until she was standing in front of the door. She pulled out the key that the owner had given her, and it was days like this one that she felt incredibly lucky to have one. Winry pushed the door open and instantly felt warmer when the hot air of the cafeteria came in contact with her colder skin.

She switched on the light and dumped her bag on a random chair before heading straight to the coffee machines. She started making her coffee as she pondered on what to eat. The cafeteria had many sandwiches ready in the back but she wasn't sure if she was allowed to eat anything. She stopped for a moment to consider it, but then shrugged and walked in the back room to grab a sandwich. There were so many, one wouldn't make a difference, she thought as she opened the fridge and took one out. Her stomach growled once again, as if sensing the sandwich in her hand. She opened her mouth and took a large bite as she made her way back to the coffee that awaited her.

Once Winry finished eating, and her stomach wasn't complaining any longer, she buttoned her coat and started putting on her skates. She felt excitement fill her chest every time her feet touched the ice. She just loved ice skating so much. She started moving slowly, with no rhythm, just for the sake of skating. That's how it always started, but then she'd get caught up in it and she'd lose track of time completely. Many times she'd accidentally miss work and other times her grandmother would get worried and try calling her on her mobile.

Winry started humming one of her favourite songs and moved accordingly, her eyes closed and her hands behind her back as she was lost in her dream. She loved being alone like this, in her own world, but lately, a part of her wanted company. Ever since her meeting with Ed here, she couldn't help but expect him to walk in on her again so they could chat and maybe even skate together. She hadn't really seen him skate, but maybe he was good? Or maybe not? She found herself interested to find out.

She stopped moving for a moment and tied up her hair with a band she had around her wrist. She took some deep breaths and started skating fast towards the other end of the ice skating rink, only to jump halfway and spin in mid air. She landed perfectly on one leg and skated backwards for a few seconds before turning forward and stopping once she reached the end of the rink. She sighed and reached for her mobile in her pocket to check the time. She had to be back at her house at 2:30 in case her granny was back from work and after that she only had time to eat a quick meal and run to the cafeteria for work. She sighed again once she saw that the time was 2:14p.m. Why does time fly when you're having fun? She questioned herself as she slowly got off the ice and set the skates aside. She pushed the door to the cafeteria open to retrieve her bag and left without a second thought.

Once she reached her house, she wordlessly put some spaghetti her grandmother had prepared out and didn't even bother to reach for a chair as she instead hopped onto the table and made herself comfortable. It's not like her granny was home yet to know...

As soon as she finished, she dumped her dirty plate in the sink and hurried upstairs to grab her things for work. She stuffed her clothes and wrench in her bag and ran out of the house as quickly as possible.

On her way to work, she noticed a few figures coming casually towards her. She thought nothing of them until she actually came to realize who they were exactly. Her eyes widened and she hopelessly looked around for another route she could take in order to get to work. When she found none she started panicking and immediately opened her bag to grab her wrench. As the bullies got even closer, Winry noticed that the leader, Envy, had a sick smirk on his face and was looking directly at her.

_'We'll finish this later Rockbell' _she remembered him saying. At first she hadn't payed any attention to his words as she had been too relieved to be left alone, but now, as she thought back to the moment, she was terrified. She thought he'd forget about everything that happened earlier, so him coming towards her now was making her feel so small and helpless.

Once he was close enough, Envy stopped and stared at Winry so intensely, she couldn't hold his gaze anymore and turned to look at the ground. After a few awkward moments of silence passed, Winry decided to keep walking and maybe then she could reach the cafeteria and make them leave her alone. As soon as Winry started walking though, Envy grabbed her arm and pushed her back, making Winry yelp in surprise.

"Where're you going Rockbell?" asked Envy in a surprisingly calm tone while releasing her arm.

Winry, without making eye contact replied with confidence she didn't know she had,"Leave me alone Envy. I've got to go to work."

Envy laughed as the others of the group formed a circle around her, making her feel even worse, "Oh come on, _work_? Seriously? Why not come with us? It'll be more interesting, that I can guarantee," Envy said as he moved closer to the blonde, his smirk only growing.

Winry couldn't wait any longer and she lifted her arm with her wrench up in the air, ready to strike. What she hadn't been prepared for however, was for Envy to smack her arm, making the wrench fall out of her reach in the process.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice Rockbell," he snarled in irritation as he brought up his hand and slapped her with great force.

Winry was stunned and looked hopelessly at the wrench too far away from her, wishing for it to gain life and save her. She started taking major steps backwards but froze when she felt her back collide with something hard. She turned around and saw one guy from the group standing right behind her, with his hands casually in his pockets and a smirk matching Envy's on his face. Winry's eyes widened out of fear as she felt tears of powerlessness fill her eyes and her cheek began to throb painfully.

The guy noticed this and put on an expression of mock sympathy,"Oh come on guys, the little girl's ready to cry!" he announced, almost proudly.

Envy rolled his eyes,"Oh come on Greed, don't tell me you've turned soft," he teased and earned a death glare from Greed.

Winry was about to allow her tears to fall when she heard a familiar voice shout,"Hey! Let her go!"

They all turned around, and upon realizing who had spoken Winry let her tears fall feeling extremely relived while the others growled in annoyance.

"Jade!" Winry shouted breathlessly. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest she wondered if it was supposed to be hurting.

"Hey gurly," Jade replied with a smile, and then changed her expression to a scowl as she regarded the bullies, "Leave her alone!" she shouted while shooing them like dogs.

The group remained frozen for a few seconds but after sharing some looks, they shrugged and started walking away, allowing Winry to breath normally again.

"I'm not giving up so easily Rockbell," Envy whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine before leaving. Winry remained silent and tried her best to ignore Envy's words as Jade walked over to the blonde and wrapped her arms around her trembling form.

"Oh Jade, thank you so much!" Winry cried, trying to steady her voice as the tears flowed down her cheeks.

Jade smiled and stroked her hair,"Think nothing of it hun," she said and released her.

Winry wiped her tears away with her sleeve and turned her blue eyes to stare right into Jade's green ones,"No really, thank you. I don't even want to think what they would have done..." she said, trying her best to smile.

Jade sighed and flipped her black, curly hair over her shoulder, "Anyway, let's get to work now or we'll be late! Don't wanna listen to the boss' lecture now right?" she laughed, trying to lighten the mood,"Oh and we'll put some ice on that cheek, it's gone really red."

Winry managed a small smile,"Ok," she said as she went to retrieve her wrench.

After they entered the cafe, Winry received many concerned questions which were politely answered by her black haired friend as they entered the back room to get changed. She had been lucky Jade had been there to help her this time, but if there was a next time, Winry wasn't sure if she'd be as lucky. She sighed as she removed the ice from her cheek and tied her apron around her waist and afterwards fixed her hair up in a neater ponytail. She exited the back room and shoved all her former thoughts at the back of her mind. She couldn't afford to be spacing out now.

Even so, she found herself doing just that, but not the way she had originally thought. She waited in front of the counter and stared at the door, momentarily in her own world. Anyone who looked at her would probably think she was waiting for a random customer to enter, but only she knew that she was actually waiting for a certain blond customer, silently hoping inside that he would just storm in and ask for a coffee. She didn't know why, but she felt like seeing him would somehow make her feel better, even if he was in a foul mood himself.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Jade noticed her spacing out and put a hand on her shoulder,"Hey girly, you ok?" she asked as she dried a glass with a cloth.

Winry smiled sheepishly,"Um yeah, d-don't worry about me. I just spaced out that's all." She tried to sound convincing but when Jade frowned she mentally smacked herself.

"Are you thinking about those guys?" she asked in a tone that demanded the truth as she set the now sparkling glass down and poured some orange juice in it.

Winry shook her head, "No, I'm not thinking about them," she replied truthfully and to her confusion Jade smirked ever so slightly, "You were staring kind of expectantly at the door you know. Maybe, waiting for someone _specific _to come in?"

Winry blushed,"W-what? No, why would I be waiting for someone. That'd be so childish."

"Waiting for the blondy that came in yesterday?"

Winry's eyes widened, "W-what blondy? W-what are you talking about Jade? Oh come on don't be ridiculous," she said so fast, she had to hope she wouldn't have to repeat herself.

Jade shook her head,"Winry, I saw how you were looking at him yesterday," she stated as if this was the most simple thing in the world.

Winry spluttered,"W-what? H-how was I looking a-at him?" she asked wide eyed.

Jade chuckled,"I dunno. All dreamlike kind of thing," she laughed, making the blonde blush a cherry shade of red, "I was not!" she argued, causing Jade to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "Oh really now? I thought you looked like you wanted to..." she trailed off as she made a comical _'smooch' _sound, making Winry's blush turn an ever darker shade of red as she hit her friend on her arm repeatedly.

Jade erupted into laughter, "Ow, ow, come on! O-ok I-I'm sorry," she laughed.

The blonde turned around with a huff and crossed her arms,"I did not look like that!"

Jade rolled her eyes,"Keep on believing that..." she muttered as she made her way to the customer waiting for the orange juice she held.

"What was that!?" Winry shouted at her retreating form.

"Nothing, nothing!" she replied with her free hand in the air.

Winry rolled her eyes and pouted. She did _not _look like that when she spoke to Ed. Jade was just teasing her, that's all. Was it bad that she was just feeling excited and kind of stunned for seeing him here? And besides! She was treating Al the same way! What's the difference?! She did not like either of the brothers, even though she felt strange and self-conscious when those golden eyes of the older brother rested upon her, making her feel as if she was being examined from top to bottom. She sighed. Was it bad that she wanted to become his friend?

She was startled out of her thoughts when the door to the cafeteria opened and revealed the blond boy she had been thinking about. He made her way towards her casually, his ponytail moving together with his coat from behind him as he walked closer and closer. He seemed slightly red and wouldn't make eye contact, but moved up to the counter she was waiting at nonetheless. When he got close enough, she greeted him with a smile that, to her confusion made him blush even more and look at the floor.

"Hey Ed," she greeted casually.

"U-um hey," he answered almost reluctantly.

Winry frowned,"Are you ok?" she asked when she noticed his uneasiness.

He forced a smile,"Y-yeah. I just need a coffee," he said as he scratched the back of his neck with his hand.

Winry smiled, "Oh ok then. Same as last time?" she winked and made him turn an ever darker shade of red.

Ed nodded and Winry looked around,"Al didn't come with you this time?" she asked and seemed to regret it instantly when his face turned into a scowl, "Uh, never mind," she murmured in an attempt to make him forget whatever had irritated him in the first place.

He sighed,"It's ok. Just...bring me a coffee will ya?" he grinned and it was Winry's time to blush and avoid eye contact.

"S-sure. Go make yourself comfortable and I'll be there in a minute."

She watched as Ed headed towards the same table he had yesterday and she actually caught herself _staring _at him for a long moment. She cursed softly and turned to make the coffee. She didn't want to make her customer wait. Jade returned from the table she had been serving and after glancing at Edward she gave Winry a knowing wink to which the blonde responded with a playful glare.

When she finished making the coffee, she placed it on a tray and headed to the table Ed was currently occupying and slowly and carefully placed the coffee on the table in front of him.

"Here you go," she said with a smile which he returned.

Winry waited a few seconds until she opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Edward who opened his mouth the exact same time as her.

"Ed, about the –"

"Winry, how abou – "

They both stopped at the same time and chuckled softly at their stupidity.

"You first," Ed said, with a playful grin.

Winry blushed slightly,"W-well, I wanted to say...About the automail thing, d-do you still want to come over?"

Ed raised his eyebrows a little and smiled, "Hey that's what I was about to say," he said with a small laugh.

Winry laughed heartily,"Oh cool. So, what do you think?"

"Sure. I wanted to ask when do you want me to come over?"

Winry frowned softly as she considered it,"Hmm. How about you come on Saturday? We both don't have school then."

Ed thought about it for a moment before nodding,"You got it. What time?"

"How about you come in the morning sometime? About 10? Or 11?"

Ed grinned,"10 seems fine."

Winry nodded when suddenly Ed frowned and stood up. He stared at her face intensely making her blush a deep shade of red and feel extremely self-conscious under his piercing stare. She was about to question his actions when he spoke,"Is that a bruise?" he asked not so amiably. Winry's eyes widened and she turned to face the floor in order to hide the bruise that was obviously forming on her cheek from where Envy had slapped her.

"Uh, n-no?" she said uncertainly and cursed herself for it.

Ed's frowned deepened as he leaned closer to her face, "Yes it is," he growled.

Winry didn't really want to worry him about things silly like that so she gently put her hands on his chest and pushed him away, "I-It's fine Ed. D-don't worry about it."

Ed seemed reluctant to let it go, but a glance at Winry's pleading face changed his mind as he sighed and plopped down on the couch he had been sitting, "If it's something serious I want you to tell me," he said and Winry couldn't help but smile at him for being so protective.

Winry was about to opened her mouth when she heard her name being shouted from behind her,"Hey Winry! Sorry to interrupt your conversation with your boyfriend but I need your help here!" Jade shouted from the counter she had been previously standing in front of as many customers bombarded her with orders.

Both Winry and Ed blushed at the 'boyfriend' comment but didn't complain about it. Winry turned to him with an apologetic expression and he just chuckled, "Go on," he said lazily, "Your friend needs you. Besides, I'm gonna enjoy my coffee now so now worries."

Winry gave him a thankful look and silently made her way to her busy friend.

"Gee, I thought he was going to kiss you then. He leaned incredibly close. For a moment I thought he was going to grab you and...," Jade said, smirking as she trailed off and made weird movements with her hands.

Winry rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the blush,"No way Jade. Get your mind out of the gutter."

Jade snorted,"Yeah right."

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Winry found herself smiling as she scribbled down multiple orders from several customers that seemed to have just returned from work and desperately wanted a cup of coffee. And when she was finally able to go home, she realized that ever since Ed had come she had been smiling. So she had been right, Ed _did_ cheer her up in the end, even though he seemed to be having a tiring day himself. All the previous fear she had felt seemed to have vanished and now she felt like her day had gone perfectly well. Oh what can a person do to someone? Winry thought as she walked down the not-so-busy streets at 6p.m. in order to return to the warmth of her house. Without even thinking, Winry started laughing loudly in the streets for no real reason. She just felt so happy all of a sudden. Maybe people thought she was crazy, she thought as she inhaled the refreshing air. She didn't care though as she looked up at the dark blue sky with a grin so big it seemed to split her face in two and her hands reached up as if wanting to be grabbed by the sky itself. She just felt so happy! Oh, she thought, life was just so weird sometimes!

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**A review for a biscuit EH? :D Or an idea for a candy? whatever you want hihi.**

**Oh and! Would you like the next chappy to be in Winry's POV or Ed's? :D - it'll be the automail meeting thingy btw  
**


	8. Getting To Know You Better

**Phew! I'm ****_finally _****done with this chapter! For some reason I found it very, ****_very _****hard to write. I hope it's alright, since it's pretty huge (again lol). So now, after a week or so of work, I present chapter 8! :D (7000+ words yay...*claps tiredly*)**

**Disclaimer:** **I don't even know why I have to say it every time...I DO NOT OWN IT!**

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_GETTING TO KNOW YOU BETTER_

Edward opened his eyes sleepily on Saturday morning and looked around to take in his surroundings. When he made sure he was in his room, in his bed, he opened his eyes a little wider and looked lazily over at the clock – 10:16a.m. He stared at it for a moment longer than necessary as his mind tried placing all the pieces in the right position of his brain; he was sure that time was supposed to mean something, but what? His tired mind couldn't think of anything so he kept staring at the clock on his bedside table, when it suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks and his eyes widened as he forced his mind to wake up completely.

"Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!" Ed screamed, as he scrambled out of bed fast, only to fall head first on the floor. Faint panicked footsteps were heard from out of the room almost immediately after the blond's outburst but Ed wasn't paying any attention to them as he tried untangling himself from the covers that had fallen with him to the floor. How had this happened!? How had it gotten _this _late!?

"What's wrong brother!?" Al shouted wide eyed as he burst into the room upon hearing his supposed-to-be-sleeping brother's screaming. Said brother seemed to be oblivious to the younger blond's presence as he continued murmuring curses at his inability to untangle the blankets from his body.

Al looked around, prepared to see an attacker or something of the sorts but upon realizing it was just his brother's exaggeration once again he rubbed his temple exasperated, "Brother what's wrong? Why are you shouting like that?" Al inquired in a slightly calmer tone as he got the beating of his heart under control once more.

Ed froze and snapped his head up to stare at Al like he had just seen a ghost,"Al..." he trailed off as he took in the boy's presence and then exploded,"DIDN'T I TELL YOU TO WAKE ME UP AT 9:30!?," he shouted as he finally lifted himself off the floor and hurriedly ran to his closet and started throwing clothes on the floor in an attempt to find something to wear.

Al seemed dumbfounded for a moment, "You weren't kidding!?" he asked, stunned that his brother had to actually _go _somewhere. Ed grunted in response as he pulled out a black T-shirt and a pair of black jeans. Al watched him in mild amusement as he moved around the room practically running in an attempt to get everything he needed ready.

"So you weren't kidding huh..." he murmured, more to himself that anything as he tried to convince himself that his brother was going to leave the house in his own free will without school being involved.

"No, I wasn't kidding damn it, why'd you think I was!?" Ed said, not looking at his brother since he was too busy trying to pull his jeans up.

"Well, you never leave the house on a weekend unless I have to drag you out and you always sleep most of the day away anyway, so when you said yesterday 'Al, wake me up at 9:30' I really thought it was some kind of joke and ignored it," Al said smiling apologetically as he continued watching his brother scurry around the room. His words made Ed pause for a moment to glare at him but after a few seconds he just shook his head and ran out of the room and in the bathroom.

Al followed him silently and paused in front of the bathroom door, a smug expression making its way on his handsome features ,"So brother, where are you going?" he queried curiously, even though he had a vague idea of where he was going and who he was going to see.

The older blond was silent for a few moments but since Al couldn't hear things moving past the door anymore, he guessed his brother had stopped whatever he was doing, probably desperate to think up a lie.

"Err, nowhere really...walk," said the voice from the other side of the door, as the clanking of things moving returned.

Al raised an eyebrow at this, rather pathetic, lie, "Oh really brother," he said bluntly, "Then why did you wake up so stressed, as if _not wanting to be late_ for something? A walk can wait you know," he said, feeling slightly exasperated at his brother's constant attempts to justify his actions with lies. Why didn't he tell the truth for once? Was it bad to admit wanting to see someone? Didn't he trust Al? Was he embarrassed or something? Numerous questions crossed Al's mind but all remained unanswered.

A loud '_bam'_ was heard from the bathroom as things fell to the floor and a series of fluent curses ensued, "Uh, no Al, I uh, had told myself that I'd go for a walk early so I could do homework afterwards."

Al sighed and rolled his eyes,"You're seeing Winry, aren't you?" he said flatly, the level of annoyance bubbling inside of him with every lie his brother had decided to tell.

More things seemed to have fallen down on the tiles, again followed by curses. Al could just picture Ed being as red as a cherry while he tried to come up with yet another lie and picking up the things off the floor clumsily and hurriedly. Suddenly, the bathroom door flew open and Ed ran out of the room and quickly went to put his shoes on. Al came up from behind him, smirking ever so slightly despite the irritation he was feeling.

"So, where are you meeting her? Cafeteria?" he asked smugly, now having confirmed his suspicions about his brother's 'date' being the blonde ice skater.

Ed was too busy trying to put his shoes on and pull his coat on his body at the same time that he didn't even think to reply with a lie or even deny seeing Winry in the first place,"House," he blurted out distractedly only to freeze completely when his mind registered the word that had come out of his mouth and he blushed a crimson red. That had sounded _so _wrong. Nevertheless, he continued his former actions all the while avoiding eye contact with Al at all costs.

Al's expression turned from smug to shocked,"Wait. You're going to her _house?_" he asked, saying the words slowly as he tried convincing himself that he had misunderstood. Ed grunted in response and cursed himself for letting it slip, "It's no big deal!" he defended himself as best as he could as he slipped his gloves on to complete his outfit. Al's jaw dropped to the floor as Ed opened the front door and without a second thought rushed out of the house and into the streets.

He started off in a jog but that soon turned into an all out run and it was moments like these that he cursed himself for not having an automail tune up on his leg before as he could hear the creaks the metal made due to lack of maintenance.

He had been running for about 5 minutes when he started to slow down to catch his breath and look around to see where he actually was and try to recall the way to her house. Sweat trailed down his cheek and he subconsciously wiped it away with his hand as his mind was trying to remember the way to his current destination. He was very near the ice skating rink and he decided to go and try remembering from there. Before resuming his running, he pulled out his phone just to shock himself when he looked at the numbers the screen displayed – 10:37a.m. Winry was going to kill him.

Ed took in a deep breath and began the stressful running. If only he had not put his trust in Al to wake him up and instead set his alarm, he wouldn't have had this problem! Well, he hadn't really thought about how he would make it to her house in the first place but at least he wouldn't have been running _this _late! When he reached the ice skating rink he started running past it and down the road he remembered them going. It took him some time, but he was finally in the exact area he remembered them stopping. Now the only problem was; he had no idea what the house looked like. He hadn't really given it much attention the first time he went there and now, as he glanced around, every house seemed the same to him. He scratched his head in thought and frustration and bit his lip as he forced his mind to recall something – anything.

He looked around, now desperate to find her house when a very vague picture flashed in his mind. Struggling not to forget it, he looked around once more as he walked down the street and paused when he stared at a house that was faintly matching the image. He considered knocking just to check as he reminded himself that he didn't have anything to lose and so, he ran over to the door and rang the bell. The door opened after a few moments of anxious waiting and a very tall man came into view.

"Hello? How can I help you?" the man asked, seeming slightly confused.

Ed was silent for a moment as he desperately tried to get as much oxygen in his lungs as possible,"S-sorry, is this the Rockbell residence?" he asked, panting, with a desperate look in his eyes. He was already late and now _lost _as well...!

The man frowned,"Rockbell? No, but I know where it is," he said as his face brightened up a bit.

Ed let out a huge breath of relief,"Can you tell me where?"

"Sure son, just go down this street and it's the last house on your right. I don't think you'll miss it since the garden is full of flowers," the man said kindly as he pointed down the road with his finger.

Ed nodded and immediately started running towards the place the man had pointed to only to turn around and shout a 'thank you!' before speeding up. He continued running down the road when he spotted a building that matched both the blurred image in his mind and the description the man had given him about the garden and he couldn't help but grin as he opened the front gate of the house and sprinted towards the front door. He banged his fist on the door several times only to pause when he noticed the door bell and decided to stop banging like a mad man and instead act civilized. As he waited for the door to be opened, his stomach made a loud growl and he groaned when he realized that he had skipped breakfast. Oh well.

The door knob turned and the door opened slightly, revealing the pretty blonde ice skater and mechanic this was all about. She wore a slight revealing black tube top and a pair of comfy purple pants. If Ed had been in any other situation he would have blushed but insteadhe let out a huge breath he hadn't been aware he was holding in while his body visibly relaxed and he rested his arms on his knees as he bent over to catch his breath from his morning exercise, "H-hey," he said, panting.

Winry looked stunned for a second as she regarded him but her expression soon turned into a frown, "You're late," she stated flatly making Ed grimace slightly, "Like, _really_ late."

Ed straightened up,"Yeah...I know...sorry," he apologized, smiling nervously while his hand made its way to the back of his neck, scratching it anxiously.

She raised an eyebrow,"And would you mind telling me why you're almost one hour late?" she inquired in an almost professional manner, making Ed feel as if he was being interrogated.

"Ugh. Firstly, I overslept – but that was Al's fault! And secondly, I had a hard time finding the house," he admitted, feeling slight shame.

Winry was silent as she considered it, making Ed feel ten times worse until she nodded and grinned, "Right. Well, why don't you come in?" she said and stepped out of the way to make room for Ed to enter.

Ed smiled in spite of himself and walked inside. He discretely looked around, the room filled with several things his eyes found interesting to explore. The living room he was currently into was rather large – larger than his own, he thought and he could see some of the kitchen in the next room on his right. There were other doors upstairs, which were closed but Ed guessed they belonged to the bathroom and bedrooms, and possibly the room he was going to enter soon.

Winry walked inside after him and told him to wait until she informed her grandmother than he had arrived. Ed suddenly felt a little uncomfortable and nervous about meeting Winry's family member since he really knew nothing about the blonde and her life. Maybe her grandmother wouldn't like him? Winry had left him sitting on the living room couch and he started taking in deep breaths in order to calm his nerves. It wasn't like he was her boyfriend about to meet her father! It's just an old hag, how hard can it be?

He could hear faint chatter from the kitchen and soon enough, Winry returned, a very petite woman behind her. Ed immediately stood up from his place on the couch and tried to seem as comfortable as possible; though a small part of him was convinced he had failed. Winry smiled at him and that somehow made him calm down, but upon hearing her voice, he started feeling uneasy again.

"Well, granny, this is Edward!" Winry said happily as she made her way next to Ed, "Edward, this is Pinako, my granny," she continued with a wide grin, while bringing up her hand to gesture towards her grandmother.

"H-Hello," Ed greeted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at the small woman in front of him.

Pinako nodded and grinned,"Hello Edward, Winry told me you're here today for a 'mail tune up eh?"

Ed had no idea why, but he blushed and looked down to stare at his feet,"Y-yeah,"

Pinako chuckled,"Well, I hope you pay well 'cause from what Winry told me, your automail will probably be a disaster!" she exclaimed while lighting up her pipe and placing it firmly in her mouth.

Next to Ed, Winry blushed,"G-granny! I'm not going to charge him for it!" she said and then lowered her voice,"I just wanted to check it out..."

Pinako smirked,"Yeah yeah whatever. Well, it was nice meeting you shorty, but now I have to take my leave," she said calmly as she adjusted her glasses.

Ed's eyes widened at the 'shorty' comment and his face flushed from anger, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE CAN'T EVEN BE SEEN UNDER A MICROSCOPE YOU OLD MINI, NO SUPER MINI HAG!" he exploded while stomping his foot on the ground rather childishly. Immediately after his outburst he took some deep breaths and froze when he realized what he had just done. His face flushed a bright crimson, from embarrassment instead of anger this time and he avoided eye contact at all costs, the floor becoming surprisingly interesting. He was just so used to screaming at the top of his lungs when people called him short, he actually forgot that he had just met this woman, and even worse, that he had probably left a bad, horrible impression on Winry.

The room remained deathly silent but Ed didn't dare look up or he'd probably die from the embarrassment he was feeling upon seeing their faces. Winry was more than stunned as she had never seen Ed explode like that and stared at him wide eyed whereas Pinako just raised her eyebrows and then both women erupted into hysterical laughter which only made Ed feel even worse. He squeezed his eyes shut to block the tears of humiliation from creeping up in his eyes as his face felt as if it was on fire.

Once the laughter died down, Ed squeaked out a 'sorry' and then cursed himself for sounding so pathetic. This day couldn't possibly get any worse, could it?

"Oh Ed! I haven't seen you ever blow up like that!" Winry said, trying to keep the chuckles from escaping her lips. Ed blushed even more and wished for a perfect corner he could curl up in and die alone and in peace.

"Good one pipsqueak, but now really, I got to go," Pinako said once she glanced at the clock and started walking towards the door.

Ed bit his lip to refrain from complaining about the 'pipsqueak' comment and instead waited, almost impatiently for the old woman to leave, even if that meant being left alone with Winry in her own house. He mentally groaned as his thought went wild for a moment and couldn't help but ask himself why he agreed to the whole thing in the first place. Only now did it occur to him that he'd have to strip down in order to allow Winry to see his automail and he suddenly felt very self-conscious.

After the older woman's departure, the room fell silent and Ed looked at Winry out of the corner of his eye, only to realize that she was doing the same thing. When their eyes met, they both blushed and turned around awkwardly. The silence continued until Ed's stomach made a rather large growl that caused him to subconsciously bring his hands to his stomach as if that would block out the noise. Winry's gaze went from him to his stomach and then back again until she chuckled slightly,"Well then! Let's get something to eat before we start," she said and walked towards the kitchen without waiting for a response. Ed followed her hesitantly and watched her as she opened a cupboard and pulled out a big bowl. She paused for a second as if forgetting what she wanted to do, but then moved over to a small basket they had on the table that Ed guessed was full of sweets and biscuits. Winry grabbed a packet of biscuits and ripped the cover to allow them to fall in the bowl. She then took the bowl in her hands and made her way towards Edward. She extended her arm, silently telling him to take the bowl to which he obeyed.

"I hope those are ok..." she said as she opened the fridge and poured both of them a glass of water.

"Yeah, they're fine," Ed assured while taking one in his hand and bringing it to his mouth, earning a smile from Winry.

She handed him the glass before taking a sip of her own. Ed gratefully took it and gulped it down fast before grabbing another biscuit.

Winry giggled excitedly, "Ok then! Let's get started now, I don't think I can wait any longer!" she squeaked happily and chuckled as she grabbed Ed's sleeve and practically dragged him upstairs to one of the empty rooms, seeming oblivious to Ed's uneasiness.

She pushed the door at the end of the hallway open and guided Ed inside. The room was normal enough; white walls, a bed, many chairs and stools, a work bench and several tools Ed couldn't even begin to name. The whole room smelt of oil and metal. Ed recalled having smelt the same odour come from Winry when she hugged him at the cafeteria. Winry walked inside and started collecting all the tools she'd be needing – most of them being wrenches. Ed rested the bowl on a nearby stool and after that stood still and stared at the many tools scattered all over the room, as well as the unfinished automail that had been set aside for later. He realized that everything made of metal shined in this room and a very large part of him wondered if his automail will look like that when she was done with it.

Winry brought her tool box and rested it on a stool next to the bed. Once she had seemingly counted all the tools that were in the box, she smiled and gave her attention to Ed as she gestured for him to sit on the bed. Ed gulped, suddenly feeling reluctant and incredibly nervous. He hadn't really had a proper check up and so, he had no memory of any kind of pain or the process. He was ready to sit when Winry interrupted him and told him to take his shirt off. Normally, he wouldn't have made a big deal out of it since such a thing was essential for automail check up, but he found himself hesitating and forcing his mind to find another way for her to examine his automail without him being half naked. Oh, he had his leg as well...

Ed blushed as he remembered his other limb that required attention and found the fact that he'd have to take his _pants _off even more disturbing. He must have hesitated long enough, for Winry gave him an odd look.

"Are you ok Ed?" she asked, confusion evident in her tone and expression.

That brought Ed back to reality and away from his distracting thoughts,"O-oh yeah..." he said and with an internal countdown from 3 he lifted his shirt up. He threw the shirt on a nearby chair and turned to look at Winry only to immediately blush when he realized that she was staring at him pretty intensely and he desperately wanted to get away from those ocean blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through him. He looked at the bed he was about to lie on in an attempt to get Winry to snap out of it but felt even more self-conscious than before when he figured he had failed to do so. He _had_ been exercising regularly and he was aware that he had a nice, tanned chest but really, did she have to stare so openly!? Just then, as if hearing his thoughts, she blushed and looked down at her lap, where her largest wrench was positioned.

"W-well then, sit down," Winry said, pointing at the white sheets of the bed.

"Y-yeah, just a second," Ed said, blushing as he began unbuckling his belt. _Let's get this over with..._

Winry's head shot up and stared at him wide eyed, puzzled beyond belief,"W-why are you taking your pants off!?" she asked, startled.

Ed paused and stared right into her eyes, equally confused,"W-what?"

"You don't need to take your _pants_ off for me to check out your _arm_!" Winry said, cautiously as she gave Ed an odd look.

Ed raised his eyebrows,"You're not going to look at my leg?" he asked, slightly taken aback. If she was going to do the job, she might as well do it all, right?

Winry stared blankly at him,"Leg?"

"Yeah, didn't I mention my left leg is also automail?"

"No..." she replied truthfully as her whole face lit up, probably due to her...weird assumption.

"Well, it is," Ed said and resumed the stripping. Once his boxers were visible, Winry blushed even harder but didn't stop him. Once Ed discarded the clothing completely, Winry was able to take a look at his leg as well, the flesh and metal connection leaving a harsh scar on his thigh just like on his shoulder. Ed could see from the look on her face that she wanted to ask the reason he had automail in the first place and just how roughly it had been installed. He had grown to know all the different looks people gave him when regarding his automail and most of the time Ed tried his best to ignore them. But could he really ignore the look Winry was giving him now? Her bright blue eyes shining with curiosity and sympathy – her gaze glued to the large pink scar on his shoulder as she worried her bottom lip to refrain from allowing the question to slip from in between her lips. Ed stared at her for awhile as he debated on whether to tell her or not, since the experience hadn't been one of the best but he guessed that since she was willing enough to fix it for him, he might as well tell her how he gained what she would be fixing.

Once he made his decision, he sighed, "Ask," he said bluntly as he looked away from her and sat on the bed.

His voice seemed to wake Winry up again and she looked at him, perplexed,"Huh?"

Ed lifted his head up to look at her,"Ask what you want to ask," he said simply and leaned back on the bed slightly. Winry seemed to realize what he meant now, for she turned her gaze to her lap once more and her expression turned to a sad one, "Why do you have automail?" she inquired in a tiny voice that made her look so small and vulnerable. Even though Ed had convinced himself that he would tell her, now that the actual question was out he figured he couldn't get the words out.

Winry seemed to sense Edward's hesitation for she lifted her head up and frowned sadly, "I-it's ok if you don't want to tell me! I know it wasn't a pleasant experience and I don't usually ask my customers why they got automail because I know they won't like it..." she lowered her head again, "b-but you're so young..." she whispered and trailed off as her voice got caught in her throat and it seemed to Ed as if she was on the verge of tears, which she was.

Ed sighed once more and lay on the bed completely with his arms behind his head for support, "An accident," he said, the roughness in his tone made Winry lift her head up slightly to look at his expression but to her dismay it remained blank.

Winry sniffed, "W-what accident?" she asked, lowering her voice so much that if the room hadn't been completely silent Ed wouldn't have caught it. She did seem reluctant to ask questions and she felt uncomfortable with the way their conversation was going but Ed felt the need to tell her. He hadn't really spoken to anyone about it himself; Al was the one that told Roy and the others but he as well didn't know many details due to the fact that Ed hadn't uttered a word ever since it happened. It was a taboo subject in the house. Al knew the basics of the accident and nothing more.

"A car accident," Ed replied, feeling the sudden pain, sadness and guilt he had felt that day come back to him full force and he paused briefly but before Winry could speak he continued, "My mum died in that accident," he finished in a mere whisper.

Winry gasped slightly and subconsciously brought her hand over her mouth, "I-I'm sorry..." she murmured, not having anything better to say.

"It's ok..." Ed said and took a deep breath before continuing, "It was only me and my mum in that car, I was only 10...We crashed so hard the car burst into flames," he suddenly felt his voice get caught in his throat as a very gruesome image of his dead mother flashed in his mind and he felt the sudden urge to throw up but with a deep breath kept it in, "My mum died on impact, my limbs got stuck – had to be amputated. At the hospital they stuck these things on me before I even knew what was going on," he lifted his automail leg,"After I was discharged I haven't really been very outgoing..."

Winry remained silent as she absorbed the information, new questions about the rest of the story already forming in her mind. She guessed the installation must have been painful so she didn't question that, instead, the next question came as a surprise to Ed even though it shouldn't have, "What about your father?"

Ed felt anger rise up inside of him at the mention of that bastard but he forced the devil inside him to calm down,"Bastard was never home, still isn't," he spat, his anger and hate towards his father more than evident in his tone.

"O-oh..." Winry said, shifting uncomfortably in her chair,"D-do you know where he is?"

Ed narrowed his eyes at the ceiling,"Don't know, don't care. The only thing I know is that he's abroad, his business is going fabulous and that he sends us money every month so Al and I don't need to work."

"I-I see..." Winry bit her lip and took a deep breath, "I-I don't know if it will make you feel any better b-but...M-my parents were...murdered..." she whispered shakily but didn't elaborate further and caught Ed's attention straight away, "What?" he asked wide eyed, silently praying that he had misheard. Winry was shaking and not looking at him and he guessed she wasn't psychologically prepared to go in detail so Ed let it go. He knew all too well how she would feel if he pressed the matter.

She shook her head and looked up at him,"S-shall we get started on the automail now...?" she said, smiling a fake and nervous smile.

Ed sighed and agreed since he really didn't want to continue with the conversation either. He had come here for fun not to be reminded of the harsh tricks life had played on him in the past. Winry told him to lie on the bed properly so she could start and he obeyed. The blonde opened her tool box and took out a wrench but upon taking a closer look at the automail her jaw dropped to the floor and she seemed to forget everything about their depressing conversation a few seconds ago,"What the hell Ed!" she exclaimed making Ed flinch at the sudden break of peace and quiet,"What have you done to the poor automail!? It's practically falling apart!"

He laughed nervously but figured he didn't really have a reply – he was perfectly aware of the state of his automail and he couldn't really say he was happy with it. It had been acting up for quite awhile now and it was way too heavy for his liking, the noise it started making a few years back was annoying him as well...

Winry looked at him, a grave expression on her pretty face, "When was the last time you had this checked out, Edward?" she asked in an almost professional manner that demanded the truth. She would not like it...

"I've never really had it 'checked out'. Never had a mechanic in my life," he replied honestly, even though he knew a lecture was on its way.

Winry's eyes widened and she abruptly stood up from her chair and towered over Edward, for the first time making him feel small. He gulped. "Edward! You're telling me you haven't been taking care of your automail at all and that the last time you had it checked was when they first installed it!?" she shouted in complete disbelief, "No wonder it's in that state!" She pointed at Ed's arm as if disgusted,"You need to take better care of it! It's serious Ed! What would you do if it just broke down all of a sudden while you were at school!?"

"Uh..."

She snorted, not letting him answer,"Explain that to the teachers!" she shook her head disapprovingly,"I'm not going to let that happen!" she decided as she put her hands on her hips and finally sat back down on the chair. Ed was silent, a little afraid to cross her now. It wasn't like he disagreed with her though...I new automail didn't sound bad at all; this one was already making his ports hurt like hell from the weight.

Winry lifted the arm up to examine it more closely and frowned,"Got to make you a new one, this is almost impossible to fix...your leg too," she murmured, again shaking her head in displeasure, "I'll take your current ones so I can copy the design so it doesn't seem strange to you later on."

Ed frowned ,"How long will that take?" he asked, terrified at the idea of going to school with no arm, or even worse no leg. He had made an effort to hide his automail all these years and he refused to let such an insignificant reason expose his secret for everyone to see.

Winry frowned softly as she murmured different parts of automail and numbers to herself and when she finally stopped she looked at Edward, "Three days," she said solemnly. She really took her job seriously...

Ed raised an eyebrow,"Three only? For both of them?" he did sound a bit disbelieving but three days for two limbs seemed impossible to him, unless...unless she pulled all-nighters. She wouldn't do that for him though...right?

Winry nodded,"Yeah, you'll need to miss one or two days of school though, unless you want to risk going with the spare I'm going to give you. But I'll have them ready in three days – that's for sure."

"Oh you'll give me a spare? I thought you were going to leave me with no limbs," he said making Winry give him a look, "What do you think I am? Heartless? Of course I'll give you a spare or you won't be able to move for three freaking days! And you'll probably go insane too..."

Ed laughed,"Ok then! I don't think I'll be going to school with it though, I don't want to risk it..." Well, missing one day of school seemed more appealing to Ed that it should have. '_Sleep!'_ he thought happily, _'And no Al! Peace and quiet...'_

Winry nodded but seemed slightly hesitant,"Are you sure you'll be ok not going to school?"

Ed nodded, trying to seem solemn about the whole thing but failing when a wide grin split his face in two, "I think I could handle a day or two without school," he said mischievously and leaned closer to Winry,"I ditch it every time anyway," he whispered and earned a snicker from Winry,"You shouldn't!" she said and smacked him on the shoulder playfully causing Ed to roll his eyes,"Aw come on, you do it too. And I have proof!"

Winry made a shushing sound as if someone was there to hear,"Don't tell anyone! Granny doesn't know either..." she said quietly, seeming slightly ashamed for not telling her grandmother.

"Don't worry about it, I try to hide it as well, but Al's just too damn smart – figures it out every time," Ed said and couldn't help but sigh as he recalled his multiple failures of getting away with something 'bad' from his brother.

Winry smiled and got up,"And now, let me get you fitted with the spares!" she exclaimed while clapping her hands together. She somehow seemed a little _too_ excited about this and Ed couldn't help but start feeling uneasy again. Despite his sudden nervousness he nodded at her with a smile of his own and observed her carefully as she dug around in large paper boxes she had shoved in a corner. Ed could hear the metal hitting metal and he wondered just how _much_ metal one box contained. Winry snapped him out of his thoughts as she lifted a rather large automail limb that seemed much older than his own. It was an arm, he realized once Winry got even closer and set it down in front of him. Questions flooded his mind but he kept them in, hoping they would answer themselves as the procession went on. He looked up from the arm and realized that Winry wasn't even looking at him anymore, too busy getting the tools ready. She must've sensed Ed's gaze on her, for she spoke, "This is the only spare I've got, I hope you don't mind. I'll bring the leg right after we've installed the arm," she said, still too focused on getting the right tools out of her tool box to look at him.

Ed looked back at the arm in front of him and studied it for a moment. It did look heavier than his and the metal looked old, but he guessed that was why it was a spare to begin with. He would only have it for three days anyway, and then he'd get brand new limbs. That thought excited him ever so slightly and he looked back up at Winry,"It's fine," he said with a small smile as he turned his gaze at the automail that was currently attached to his shoulder and frowned,"How are you going to put this thing on anyway though?" he asked curiously. It wasn't like he had had any experience before. He felt the tendency to ask more questions but figured it was best to wait for an answer to his first one for now.

Winry finally turned her blue eyes at him and frowned slightly, "What do you mean?" she asked, puzzled but before Ed could answer, she made a slight 'oh' sound which was followed by a slightly exasperated sigh, "You haven't done this before...haven't you?" Her question sounded more like a realization and Ed didn't bother replying, already knowing she had figured the answer out already.

Winry sighed again, but then smiled,"Don't worry, it'll be fine. It'll hurt though," she informed and chuckled slightly at Ed's horrified look,"Aw come on, you'll be fine!" she assured.

Ed nodded, not really believing her,"How much will it hurt?" he asked cautiously, dreading the answer.

Much to his surprise, Winry shrugged,"Dunno," was all she said and Ed's eyes widened as he stared at her in disbelief,"Then how do you know it hurts!?" he asked, panic creeping in his voice.

Winry seemed thoughtful for a moment,"Well, many patients have screamed when I re-attach their automail. I even asked one guy once and he said 'It hurts like hell!'" she replied, poorly imitating a rough guy's voice, "So there you have it."

Ed paled, "Y-you know, I don't think you should be telling me this stuff right now," he said as he subconsciously moved further and further away from Winry and the metal arm that was supposedly going to cause him a huge amount of pain. Winry laughed and waved her hand indifferently,"Come on, you worry too much, it'll be nothing. Besides, we have the bed if you pass out," she said as she turned to her tool box again and grabbed a wrench.

Ed he stared at her petrified, "P-pass out!?" he shouted and moved at the edge of the bed, as far away as he could currently get from the insane girl in front of him and the metal limb. His eyes turned to stare with longing at the door and his mind started forming an escape plan. '_Just grab your clothes and make a run for it!'_ he said to himself, now cursing inwardly and regretting coming here. He was suddenly perfectly satisfied with his current falling-to-pieces-six-year-old automail and he did not need a new one anytime soon!

"Don't worry, I don't think you'll pass out, only two people have ever done that to me," Winry assured but Ed's gaze was still glued at the door that seemed far more appealing that what it had just moments ago. Despite all this, he couldn't move an inch. He didn't know why, but he couldn't, and so he didn't.

"Come on Eddy!" Winry said happily as she motioned for him to lie with his back on the bed while she swung her wrench excitedly,"With this wrench I'm going to undo the screws on your arm and then I'll take it off by turning a small switch! Easy!"

Ed's mind formed a very important question,"W-will that hurt?"

She shook her head, her grin only widening, which scared Ed even more,"Nope!"

Ed gulped and forced his heartbeat to slow down as he reluctantly lay down on the bed and kept his eyes on Winry, observing her every move cautiously. When Winry brought her wrench down and it made contact with his metal shoulder, Ed subconsciously squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath in as if preparing to endure a massive amount of pain. He had no idea how many second he stayed like that but when he heard a small _'tick!'_ he hesitantly opened his eyes and looked over at his shoulder. No arm. He looked up at Winry, his face as white as snow, only to realize she was holding his arm and was smiling sympathetically at him, "That didn't hurt now, did it?" she asked sweetly and Ed let out a huge breath of relief in response.

The blonde positioned the arm on another stool that was set behind her and leaned closer to Ed in order to look inside the port. She squinted slightly as she examined its condition but once she pulled away she seemed satisfied, for she smiled brightly at him, "I don't know who installed this, but I have to admit that he did a very good job! The port's just fine," she said, for once approvingly and grabbed the spare limb, making Ed stare at it distrustfully, "Let's connect this now."

Ed took another deep breath and held it in, as he once again closed his eyes to prepare for the pain to come. He felt Winry lean closer, for her hair tickled his chest a little as she set the arm in the right place to connect it. With all her attention on the automail in front of her, she subconsciously rested her hand on Ed's chest making him react immediately as his eyes snapped open and his face became a fierce red colour, a gasp escaping his lips at the sudden contact.

Winry was oblivious to his reactions to such a simple touch as she continued getting ready for the attachment. Ed stared at the delicate, warm hand on his chest, his face only reddening. He could feel her hand burning its shape on his skin and when she finally removed it to assist the other one, her touch lingered and he found himself taking deep breaths and murmuring inaudible things to himself. Winry's voice snapped him out of his thoughts,"I'm going to connect it now, "she said, "I'll count up to three."

Ed gulped and forced all the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind, all his attention going to the pain that would soon follow.

"1," Winry said and Ed heard a small and harmless '_tick'_.

"2," She turned her wrench slightly as if ready to pull when the time required it.

"3!" She exclaimed and almost immediately sharp pains shot through his nerves from his shoulder to his whole body as his eyes flew open and he gasped. He subconsciously clenched the metal arm with his flesh one in order to cease the throbbing as Winry got up from the chair and back to the boxes. Ed breathed heavily and wearily wiped the sweat that had formed on his forehead with his left hand and before he could question the whereabouts of Winry, she came back, another piece of metal in her arms. Ed groaned when he realized what it was and ran his left hand over his face, causing Winry to roll her eyes, "Stop being such a baby, you did well," she said as she picked up her chair and moved it closer to his leg, giving him a pat on the shoulder in the process. Ed sighed and prepared himself for the aching that would soon ensue.

* * *

"You're all set!" Winry exclaimed blissfully as she wiped her hands from all the oil with an already stained cloth.

"Yay..." Ed said sarcastically as he wiped his forehead once more and struggled to push himself in a sitting position on the bed. Winry left the room for a moment, leaving Ed to recover from the nerve shock and check out his temporary limbs but soon returned with a glass of cold water. Ed gratefully took it and gulped it down before a sigh escaped his lips, "Finally..." he murmured.

"Hmph, you'll need to come again after three days you know," Winry reminded him and he gave her a weary glare.

"Don't remind me, damn it," he growled,"Am I allowed to put my clothes back on now?" he asked, hopeful.

Winry chuckled,"Sure, sure."

Once Ed was dressed he looked over at the clock only to gasp,"3p.m!? H-how long have I been here!? Al's going to _murder _me!" he shouted and hurried out of the room to grab his coat.

Winry could only laugh as she escorted him to the front door and bid him a good day before he started running back to his house.

* * *

**Tada! I don't really have much to say this time (yeah...) but all I can say is that I'm very glad I'm done with this chapter xD **

**A review always makes my day as well as any idea you might have for the fic~**

**ADIOS!**


	9. Misunderstanding

**Whoo! Chapter 9! :D I'm sorry I took so long but exams have started and I've been pretty busy studying for them *sigh* They're not over yet so I'll not be updating as often as I used to.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA, yeah XD**

* * *

_MISUNDERSTANDING_

Edward grunted in discontent as his shoulder throbbed from the automail connection. Three days had passed by incredibly fast and Ed found himself once again lying on the same bed and experiencing the same irritating pain. The spares he had been provided with had proven to be even heavier than what he had originally thought; they made his ports ache horribly with every little movement. When he had called to inform the mechanic about that, she assured him that he would be fine, irritating him further. Despite the installation pain, he felt incredibly relieved that the torture was over.

He had eventually skipped a day of school and he was pretty sure he wouldn't be attending tomorrow either if this annoying pain in his ports kept up. Were a few days of utter peace too much to ask?

He sighed when Winry followed the same pattern as last time and grabbed her stained cloth to wipe her hands, "So, how do they feel?" she asked, sitting back down on her chair to begin putting her tools back in the box.

Ed focused his attention on the metal prosthetics as he stood up and lifted his arm to perform daily movements, trying it out. His leg followed as he tried walking around the room, instantly taking notice of the difference in movement and the absence of the ever present creaks. Grinning satisfyingly, he cheerfully brought his hands on his hips and turned to face the blonde mechanic, who was now patiently waiting for his evaluation.

"This is awesome!" he exclaimed, starting to move the now lighter arm around once more, surprising himself again at the amazing difference compared to his old one.

Winry smiled, happy that she had pleased yet another customer with her work,"I'm glad you like it."

"Yeah! I mean – wow. This is super light! And it's flippin' shining! It's almost blinding me!" Ed continued, staring at his right arm, his eyes wide to take it all in at once as the gleaming metal made his golden eyes sparkle in reflex.

Winry blushed slightly at the exaggeration of the words he used to praise her work, but appreciated them nonetheless,"Yeah well, your previous automail was very, _very _old. I'm surprised you could even lift it, it was so heavy."

Ed sat back down on the bed, the smile still in place. His new automail had just made his day. It was much lighter than his old one and it was indeed shining, just like all the other prosthetics he had seen in the room. Both limbs were identical to his old ones, hence the need for Winry to take them and give him spares in the first place. The metal seemed to be new, for not even a scratch was visible on it and it was evident that it had been polished.

He felt the need to return the favour, since he recalled her opposition to his paying her. He thought hard for a moment, his brain unable to fully express his gratitude for her effort. An idea came to him, but he was hesitant, almost reluctant to express it out loud, knowing it was really nowhere near what she had done for him but after ensuring that there was really nothing else he could offer, he decided to make his thoughts known.

"So..." he started, earning Winry's attention and curious stare. For some reason he suddenly felt uneasy and embarrassed by his own thoughts; her piecing stare making him feel self-conscious. He noticed the sweat that had formed on his brow, slowly making its way down his cheek as his face felt hotter and hotter by the second.

"What is it Ed?" Winry asked, arching a brow and turned to face him completely from her place on the chair.

Ed gulped, his mind suddenly starting to over think his decision and its consequences, making him feel foolish and uncomfortable,"W-well..." he started but paused when another thought occurred to him, "Do you have anything to do when I leave?" he asked, hoping he was understood, for the question didn't come out like he wanted to.

Winry stared at him for a moment, as if studying him and trying to find something that would justify his question, but then shook her head unsurely, "I don't think so...I'll probably be here alone since Granny will be very late coming back from work today, so I guess...?" she replied, her voice showing the confusion she felt at the irrelevant query.

Despite her uncertainty, Ed nodded, considering her answer seriously, "Ok, well then..." he took a deep breath, "W-would you like to come to my house and have dinner with me and Al?" he blurted out too fast for her to comprehend, for she gave him a very puzzled and bemused look, causing Ed to sigh and rub his temple. That talk-so-fast-so-nobody-can-understand technique never worked. Not with her at least.

"Want to have dinner at my house?" Ed muttered, now almost too low for her to understand but thankfully she did and her face brightened up.

"Really!? Can I!?" she exclaimed excitedly as she abruptly stood from the chair and moved closer to Ed. Ed blushed in response, and not trusting his voice to speak, he merely nodded, making Winry squeak happily, "Yay!"

"J-just let me call Al to inform him," Ed stuttered but was ignored by Winry who was currently murmuring to herself about what to wear, causing Ed to roll his eyes. Girls. She didn't need to wear something impressive, just some random comfortable clothes. Ed would never understand how females thought.

He shook his head with a sigh, desperate to shake off the annoying thoughts; he never thought about girls and their complexity and he wasn't about to start now."Winry...you're not going to a formal dinner or something, just throw on some random clothes," he grumbled, getting up from the chair to fetch his own clothing.

At his voice, Winry turned around to face him with a slightly confused expression,"Huh? I'm not going to dress up like that! I j-just..." she trailed off as a red colour painted her face, her gaze turning to her feet.

"What?" Ed asked, perplexed by the sudden lack of enthusiasm in her tone. When Winry shook her head and retreated to get him some water, probably as an excuse to leave, he shrugged indifferently and continued dressing himself.

Once Winry had returned, he fished in his pants' pocket for his phone so he could call Al and inform him of the extra person that would be attending dinner with them while Winry observed him from her chair.

Ed dialed the number and waited for his brother to pick up the phone.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey Al, it's me," Ed said and Winry perked up a bit, seeming a little anxious.

_"Brother? What is it?" _Al asked, his tone even by the phone clearly showing the slight confusion he felt at Ed's sudden call.

"Um, about dinner...I'm bringing someone with me," Ed informed and silently cursed himself for not sounding as confident as he would have preferred.

Al was silent for a moment, making Ed feel even worse. He could feel his heart rate pick up a little when his eyes rested upon Winry who was staring at him intensely with a shy smile on her face. He stared right back at her with a small smile of his own, making her cheeks flush a sweet pink, her eyes not leaving his.

_"You're bringing Winry to eat dinner with us?" _Al finally inquired disbelievingly, snapping Ed out of his thoughts. He had almost forgotten he was talking to him.

Ed blushed when his plan had been so bluntly stated, "Y-yeah," he admitted and fixed his gaze on a nearby stool when he realized he had been staring at the blonde for too long to be considered normal (she was still staring at him though). He could practically picture Al grinning, or even sniggering.

_"Great! Mei's coming over too. They can meet! I'm sure she'll be thrilled," _Al said excitedly making Ed's eyes widen ever so slightly. He hadn't been informed that the bean girl was going to come over! And now he couldn't change his words so there was no alternative. He would have to introduce Winry to Mei. Oh _hell_. Mei could be ten times worse with the teasing than Al and he was sure she'd never let him live it down.

He noticed Winry was looking at him curiously, worriedly even as she took in his stunned expression. To ease her nervousness, he just smiled and shook his head making her sigh in relief, her body visibly relaxing.

"Ok, see you soon then?" Ed finally replied, while sending a thumbs up and a wink at Winry, causing her to blush slightly and turn to look at her lap, shifting in her chair shyly.

_"Yep! Sure, I'll be waiting...!" _ Al said in a singing tone, making Ed fear the near future even more than what he already did. What if Al and Mei teamed up and made his life hell or something? Everyone seemed to be misunderstanding his actions. The only reason he had invited Winry was because she had done one hell of a good job on his ancient automail without even receiving payment. But of course, everyone has to make assumptions and think the real reason is just an excuse and beneath lay a deeper meaning.

Ed pulled the phone away from his ear, and shoved it back in his pocket. Winry looked up at him again, awaiting an answer as to what was just said. He took a deep breath before speaking, already regretting his actions once again. Why did he always do things that made him feel uncomfortable?

Trying his best to ignore the tight feeling in his chest, he forced a smile on his face, "Go get dressed," he said, making Winry grin brightly as she shot up from her place on the chair. She began walking – Ed couldn't help but noticed the small bounce – towards the door when Ed rested a hand on her shoulder, instantly halting her,"My brother's girlfriend is coming as well, I hope you don't mind," he paused and stared blankly at her for a second as all the similarities in Mei and Winry's character flooded his mind, making him sigh, "You'll get along perfectly fine anyway, _trust me_," he added, exasperation more that present in his tone, causing Winry to arch a brow before retreating to her room.

* * *

Al rested the phone on its holder and grinned mischievously. He hadn't really invited Mei at all; that was just something he had come up with on the spot. But now he was going to do so, for Mei meeting his brother's possible girlfriend seemed highly interesting in his eyes to just be looked over. He might never get such a golden chance like that ever again in his life and so he was going to make sure he took advantage of the situation as best as he could.

He eagerly picked up the phone once more and dialed the number he knew by heart. He waited almost impatiently for the beeping to cease and reveal a high-pitched voice; his finger subconsciously being wrapped around the telephone cord. Maybe he was enjoying this a little too much. But even if he did, he couldn't care less. He always loved to playfully torture and tease his brother, since he was always such great entertainment when angry.

He smirked when the annoying sound stopped and a cheerful _"Hello?"_ was heard.

"Hey Mei. It's Al," Al greeted, barely able to contain his excitement about his ingenious plan.

_"Al! Hey! What's up?" _the exuberant voice came from the other side of the line, making his smirk grow when ideas to enhance his already perfect plan flooded his mind.

"I want you to come over for dinner," he said simply, his excitement ready to burst. He just wanted to babble on and on about everything that he had in mind in one breath. But he wisely chose to contain himself; he was sure Mei would ask him to repeat everything once he was done anyway.

Mei was silent on the other side, probably puzzled by Al's sudden invitation and trying to figure out the meaning of it.

_"Sure...But why so sudden Al?" _she inquired confusedly, failing to figure out the answer to her question alone.

Al grinned evilly,"Brother's invited his girlfriend over and I want you to meet her," he half lied. Ed wasn't bringing his _girlfriend _but his _future _one. _'Same thing!' _Al thought happily. Mei thinking Winry was his brother's girlfriend would make a very entertaining scene, that was for sure.

Mei froze on the other side and Al could just picture her with her jaw on the floor and her eyes wide and disbelieving. He would have thought she had hung up if not for the deep breathing that could be heard.

After a long moment of Mei trying to get the words to sink in she spluttered_, "WHAT?! Your pipsqueak brother actually found a GIRLFRIEND!?" _she screeched disbelievingly, making Al move the phone away from his ear for protection.

Once she finished her screaming he placed it by his ear once more and chuckled, "Yeah, and you won't _believe _who it is..." he said mischievously, causing Mei's thoughts to run wild and she gasped.

_"Don't tell me! I KNOW HER!?" _

Al loved every bit of it,"I'm pretty sure you'll remember," he said in a mysterious tone that always made people suspicious and thirsty for more information.

"_I. Am. So. Coming."_ Mei stated, probably dying to be given more details.

Al grinned triumphantly,"Ok! See you in about an hour then?"

_"DEFINITELY!" _Mei shouted before the repeatable beeping returned and Al failed to suppress the evil smirk that covered his face.

* * *

Ed rang the door bell to his house and waited for Al to open the door since he had recently discovered he had forgotten his keys. Winry was waiting patiently next to him, shifting shyly from foot to foot, her hands tucked feebly in her coat pockets and her gaze turned to the floor – only sometimes turning to glance at Ed out of the corner of her eye when she thought he wasn't looking.

They had eventually arrived much later than what Ed had originally predicted due to Winry's incredibly long preparation. Ed had waited impatiently on the couch for at least half an hour; only listening to the noises Winry was making from upstairs with a scowl on his face, clearly stating that he was not pleased with the situation. When Winry had been finally descending the stairs, Ed had muttered an exasperated 'finally!' but couldn't hide the blush that threatened to cover his face upon seeing her. She hadn't really dressed up but Ed couldn't call what she was wearing 'random clothes' either. Wearing a damn mini skirt when it's freezing cold outside was insane, even though she wore black tights underneath to provide the necessary warmth. Ed wasn't complaining though; he couldn't deny the fact that it looked perfect on her and made her slender legs worth to look at (he mentally noted not to ever think like that again, _ever_).

The door opened, snapping Ed out of his thoughts as he was met with a smiling Al, who seemed far too innocent for his liking. He had done something, he could tell. Nevertheless, he returned the smile and turned to Winry, motioning for her to step inside. She grinned happily and did as she was told, her eyes immediately scanning the room in awe.

"Woah..." she whispered before making a whistling sound.

Al chuckled at her reaction while Ed rolled his eyes with a lopsided grin. Their house wasn't _that _big and awesome. It was considered normal, besides he remembered her living room being larger.

"Let me take your coat," Al offered kindly, earning a sweet smile from Winry before she shrugged off the garment and handed it to him.

Ed looked around, his golden orbs searching for a very short and annoying girl. When he stood next to Winry he frowned as he was convinced she was nowhere in sight.

"Where's the bean girl?" he asked, catching the attention of both his brother and the blonde girl.

"Bean girl?" Winry asked but got no response as Al replied to his brother's query.

"She's not here yet, _and_ she has a name brother," he answered with an exasperated shake of the head while placing Winry's coat on the hanger.

Ed snorted,"Whatever, where's the food?" he asked impatiently, with a grin that made him look much younger than what he was.

"Far away from you," Al stated bluntly,"We're waiting from Mei first," he continued, earning a glare from Ed and a small giggle from Winry. Ed was about to state his opposition when the door bell echoing throughout the house interrupted him and Al lost interest in the conversation – more like argument – they were having and ran to open the door with a bright smile.

"Hey Mei!" he greeted excitedly, his previous enthusiasm for his mischievous plan coming back to him full force and he had a hard time not letting the kind smile on his face turn evil.

"Hey Al!" Mei greeted back, equally zeal. She shifted anxiously from foot to foot as she worried her bottom lip, barely able to contain the excitement that was killing her inside. Al noticed and chuckled just before he stepped to the side to allow her to enter. Immediately after she walked inside her eyes began looking around wildly and upon resting on Winry and Ed she screeched, causing Ed to place his hands over his ears and glare at her while Winry jumped from the sudden noise attack.

Mei ran up to her, eyes wide as she examined her from top to bottom, murmuring to herself and nodding in approval making the blonde feel extremely self-conscious. Upon finishing, she turned to face Ed, a surprisingly grave expression on her usually happy-go-lucky features. She walked up to him until they were face-to-face, a determined frown on her face as if she were a soldier. Both Ed and Winry stared at her cautiously and confusedly with a brow arched.

Mei nodded firmly, "I'm impressed pipsqueak," she started, making Ed scowl at the 'pipsqueak' comment and was ready to throw a fit when Mei raised her palm to silence him, which she did successfully since Ed was too puzzled by her actions to object. Al was trying his best to stifle his laughter from where he stood in front of the door, not wanting to attract attention, and he brought a hand to his lips.

"I never thought you'd ever find a girlfriend, let alone one as pretty as this one," she pointed at Winry who was probably perplexed beyond belief, for her face showed as much. Ed's eyes widened and his face became a fierce red colour upon realizing Mei's thoughts and he opened his mouth to make a fuss about it but was once again silenced by Mei who had moved right in front of Winry, her features still serious, "Dear," she started softly," _What _did you find in _him _that you _liked_?" she asked solemnly, pointing almost disgustingly at Ed, making Winry raise her eyebrows and glance at Ed out of the corner of her eye just to see that he was as red as a cherry and was glaring daggers at the short girl in front of her.

This was a misunderstanding and she figured that it was best to tell the poor girl the truth,"Um...we're not...together," the blonde muttered almost inaudibly making Mei raise her eyebrows and her grave expression turned into a thoughtful one as she started nodding again, muttering to herself, "Hmm...denying your relationship with him...I see..." she paused and nodded,"I guess that makes sense. No one would want to be seen with him..." she finished murmuring and glanced at Ed, who growled at her.

"Bean girl, knock it off! We're not a couple! Who gave you _that _idea!?" Ed shouted, indignantly. Mei was used to his shouting and screaming so none of it had an effect on her. Her expression turned blank as she pointed her index finger at Al who immediately sobered up and stared at Mei, wide eyed feeling betrayed before Ed and Winry both turned to look disbelievingly at him, making him laugh nervously.

Ed glared at him,"How _dare _you..." he breathed, dangerously low, making Al gulp. Had he gone too far?

Mei snorted and smacked Ed on the shoulder firmly, making him turn to glare at her again, "Oh come on! It's no big deal! Your girlfriend's really pretty!" she paused and turned to Winry, who was now red in the face and looking extremely uncomfortable, "What's your name by the way?" she squeaked happily, oblivious to the blonde's uneasiness.

Winry took a few steps back from the exuberant girl in front of her in order to retrieve some of her personal space, "W-Winry...Winry Rockbell," she said feebly, her heart picking up its pace as the seconds passed.

Mei's face brightened up as a massive grin split her face in two and she grabbed Winry's hands tightly in her own, "Nice to meet you Winry! I'm Mei Chan– "she cut herself off abruptly as her eyes widened and she frowned, suddenly returning to the examination of the blonde. A few moments passed in tense silence as Mei stared right into her eyes, studying her until she finally tore her eyes away and instead focused on Al.

"Hey Al, didn't you say I knew her?" she inquired curiously making both Ed and Winry look at Al as well; Winry stunned and Ed suspicious with a frown, both waiting for the younger brother's reply.

Al tensed when everyone in the room turned their attention on him and it was his turn to go red in the face though he wasn't quite sure about the reason. The only thing he was sure of was that tonight was his last day. Did Mei want him dead or something!? Couldn't she get the hint and not make it even worse than what it already was!? His brother and Winry – oh, especially his brother – were going to _murder _him. He shuddered at the thought and suddenly felt scared at being left alone with Ed after Mei and Winry were gone. There was no avoiding the argument that was bound to follow, he was aware of that. But the thought of staying with his brother alone at _night _while he was sleeping and therefore _vulnerable_ made him want to make a run for it and ask Mei if he could sleep at her house instead. For personal safety.

"W-well..." he stuttered once Ed mouthed '_I'm going to kill you' _from next to Mei and cracked his knuckles with a smile matching the devil's, causing Al to look desperately around the house for an escape route only to find none. He was doomed.

When she got no satisfying reply out of her boyfriend, Mei looked back at Winry. She squinted slightly as if that would help her recognize her but when nobody came to mind she huffed, "WHO ARE YOU!?" she shouted in frustration, her hands pulling at her hair subconsciously as she stared intensely at Winry who had absolutely no idea of what was going on. Ed had had enough and sighed in exasperation,"Mei, cut it out and let's go have dinner. I'm _starving_," he complained, his voice sounding more like a childish whine towards the end than what it was supposed to.

Mei though ignored him completely and turned back at Al to enlighten her. Al sighed and decided to give her a helpful hint, he was already dead anyway. What else could possibly make things worse?

"Ice skating rink," he said flatly and immediately Ed snapped his head in his direction and glared, his golden eyes seeming to be on fire from the anger he was feeling. Mei made a blunt 'oh' sound as everything started to click in her head and she turned at Winry once more, wide eyed. Ed face palmed with a groan and Winry looked as if she was ready to burst into tears for a reason that was unknown to her. She was most likely feeling embarrassed with all the attention she was receiving. Being mistaken as Ed's girlfriend wasn't helping much either but she found it rather weird. She wasn't supposed to feel embarrassed by attracting attention; she had skated in front of crowds several times. Why was this any different?

Mei gasped softly and reached out to touch her face dramatically while whispering,"Y-you're that...ice skater...aren't you?"

Winry didn't know how to respond and flashed a pleading look at Ed who caught on instantly and nodded gravely at her before reaching out and grabbed Mei by her shirt, lifting her up without breaking a sweat,"Now that you've been introduced to each other let's go eat the damn dinner _that's probably gone cold_!" he grumbled annoyingly as he carried Mei into the kitchen while she hung defeated, pouting. As Ed made his way to the kitchen, he flashed a small grin at Winry who mouthed a sincere _'thank you' _before following him with Al, who made sure to keep a small distance until his brother cooled off, because he knew that right now, he _hadn't_. He was just like a balloon slowly being pumped up with abundant air, waiting to explode at any minute.

As Al entered the kitchen, he felt relieved that he had thought to make stew for tonight; unarguably his brother's favourite. Maybe that would cool him off a bit.

Ed dumped Mei on a chair and Al quickly took a seat next to her nervously, making Ed and Winry sit opposite of them. Ed deliberately sat across from Al, glaring at him when their eyes locked for a brief moment. Winry sat across from Mei, who was more than happy about it and oblivious to the silent yet ominous threats Ed was currently trowing at Al. Winry smiled sweetly at Mei when she made a comment about her being her 'idol' ever since the skating performance as she sat down.

Al, unable to hide from his brother's piercing stare, stood up with the excuse of getting everyone dinner. He took out four plates and slowly started filling them with food. He idly listened to the others' conversation, too preoccupied by thinking of ways to face his brother's wrath later on.

"How did you get into ice skating?" Mei piped up curiously, staring at Winry in a dreamlike state.

The blonde smiled, "I've always been into it actually. It was my mother's hobby and even as a baby, I used to watch her in awe every time she practiced. I started when I was five with my mother as a teacher but soon sought out a professional," she replied, laughing in slight embarrassment.

Mei beamed, "Wow! Ah, I wish I could be as good as you..." she trailed off with a dreamy sigh, causing Winry to chuckle slightly.

Ed, who had been silently listening, snorted and drew the attention of both girls,"Not happening bean girl."

Winry raised her eyebrows and Mei fumed, her whole face turning red as she huffed indignantly,"Wanna see you try, pipsqueak!"

Ed stood up abruptly and glared at Mei,"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" he screamed and rested a foot on the chair, making him seem like he just wanted to jump over the table and throttle Mei. Winry was highly amused; again, she found seeing Ed like this mildly entertaining and couldn't suppress the laughter that rose inside of her.

Upon hearing her chuckles, Ed's head snapped in her direction and he stared at her in disbelief and slight betrayal. Wasn't she supposed to be on his side? His shocked expression soon disappeared as he glared at her as well, only succeeding in amplifying her laughter.

Al set a plate full of stew in front of Mei, making Ed drool as he stared at it hungrily, all previous angry thoughts lost. He later set two other plates in front of Winry and Ed and at last his own. Everyone immediately shut up and began eating in a silence comfortable for the three blonds but uncomfortable for poor Mei. She shifted in her chair and glanced at Winry from the other side of the table, who was pleasantly eating the hot stew. She then turned to glance at Ed, who was almost half way through already and finally turned to Al, who was eating at a pace that matched Winry's. When her onyx eyes focused back on Winry, she caught her staring and Mei blushed and turned back to her dinner, much to Winry's confusion.

"What is it Mei?" Winry asked, breaking the silence and making all heads turn to the sudden voice.

Mei's eyes widened for a moment before she blushed," N-no, n-nothing!" she stuttered while waving her hands in front of her. Winry arched a brow and then frowned slightly in confusion but let it go, the room turning silent once again. Mei sighed in relief but it was short-lived as the uneasiness she had been feeling returned. She knew she needed to ask sooner or later just to make sure since the misunderstanding before had confused her and left her with a feeling of uncertainty. She took in a deep breath a decided to ask, hoping she'd get a clear answer this time.

"So...you two are...not together?" she inquired, her voice showing her hope for the opposite. Ed was the first one to answer,"No," he stated bluntly, still looking at his now empty plate. Winry smiled in sympathy and shook her head,"No we're not, I'm sorry if we had somehow led you to believe otherwise," she replied softly and Mei felt Al tense next to her but didn't question it, too busy trying to think of a way to fix her mistake in such a way that she wouldn't end up dead by the end of the day. Maybe it would have been better to have waited or asked for permission before...

The door slammed open, making everyone but her jump out of surprise and leap to their feet, startled. Ed quickly stood in front of Winry and the others as he peeked out just enough for the front door to be visible.

Winry and Al followed but when the door came into view, they could only gawk.

* * *

**Yeah I'm leaving it here hehe. Lol I love writing Mei for some reason.**

**Oh oh, if you happen to find any silly mistakes, I APOLOGIZE! XD **


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